Romania’s M&A market: More transactions but a lower total value in 2018 - PwC report

The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in Romania amounted to around EUR 5 billion in 2018, down 12% year-on-year, according to the PwC Romanian M&A Outlook. The report also said that the year-on-year depreciation was in line with market developments in Central and Eastern Europe.

In terms of volumes, over 170 transactions were registered last year in Romania, with a total value of about EUR 5 billion. The amount takes into account the values of the transactions made public, but also estimates and projections of the values in cases where price data were not available from public sources, PwC said. The number of transactions was higher than in previous years, when there was an average of 130-140 transactions per year.

For 2018, the report shows that the most effervescent areas were IT&C, medical services and pharma, real estate and industrial production. By comparison, the 2017 top also included the financial services sector.

Even though transaction values have not been published in all cases, over the past few years, approximately 15 transactions of over EUR 100 million have been recorded annually, PwC also said. The total market value was influenced each year by the number of transactions over EUR 100 million. The annual average value was constant around EUR 30 million. If large transactions are excluded, the market average reaches about EUR 14 million per transaction.

“The large number of transactions recorded in 2018 reflects the effervescence of the market that we all felt. 2017 and 2018 were for Romania the years with the highest value of trading activity, surpassing the peak from 2006-2008,” said Anda Rojanschi, partner D&B David si Baias.

Meanwhile, George Ureche, PwC Romania’s transaction team leader, commented: “For 2019 we anticipate an evolution somewhat similar to that of the last two years, both in terms of market value and number of transactions. Projects are already underway in several sectors and the successful completion depends largely on the economic and legal stability of the country. If these elements are met, we see a very good year for the mergers and acquisitions market.”

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