PwC: Romania’s M&A market reaches EUR 2.3 bln in third quarter

Romania’s mergers and acquisitions market reached an estimated EUR 2.3 billion in the third quarter of 2026, 2.2 times the value recorded in the same period last year, according to PwC. A total of 93 transactions were announced, representing a 52% annual increase.

The market value includes the acquisition of Electronic Arts by a consortium comprising the Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. The share attributed to the video game company’s Romanian operations is estimated at more than EUR 650 million.

Excluding the Electronic Arts deal, the average transaction value remained at approximately EUR 16 million, similar to the third quarter of 2025.

“The deals market in the third quarter of 2026, in terms of both value and number of transactions, points to sustained investor interest in Romanian businesses,” said George Ureche, deals partner at PwC Romania.

According to him, early results from the fiscal consolidation package, Romania’s continued investment-grade rating, and the prospect of joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development had supported market activity. Consolidation opportunities are being pursued mainly by strategic investors already active in Romania, he added.

Excluding Electronic Arts, industrial products and services generated the largest share of transaction value, at approximately EUR 463 million, or 32% of the quarterly total. Energy followed with around EUR 232 million, representing 16%.

Among the largest deals announced during the quarter were Scatec’s acquisition of the 77 MW Urleasca wind project, Apollo Global Management’s takeover of FORVIA’s interiors division, and Alimentation Couche-Tard’s acquisition of Żabka Group, including its Froo operations in Romania. Each was estimated at more than EUR 90 million.

Other notable transactions included BasePoint Capital’s acquisition of International Personal Finance, whose Romanian operations are conducted through Provident Financial Romania, and an affiliate of Lone Star Funds’ acquisition of Continental’s ContiTech industrial division.

According to the PwC report, only 11 of the 93 announced transactions exceeded EUR 40 million, indicating that Romania’s market remained dominated by smaller deals in numerical terms.

Transactions involving European or international groups with Romanian operations generated EUR 1.6 billion of the total market value. These were deals covering businesses in several countries rather than direct acquisitions of standalone Romanian companies.

Strategic investors remained the main buyers, accounting for 65 transactions, while financial investors were involved in 28. The number of deals involving financial investors increased by approximately 14% year-on-year.