Romania's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market reached an estimated value of EUR 5.2 billion in the first half of 2026, up 89% y/y, while the number of announced transactions increased by 30% to 162, according to an analysis by PwC Romania.

The consultancy said the market recorded three transactions valued at more than EUR 500 million in the first six months of the year, compared with just one during the same period of 2025, Profit.ro reported.

Small transactions continued to dominate the market. Deals valued below EUR 40 million accounted for 84% of all announced transactions, while 16 deals, or 10% of the total, fell into the EUR 40-100 million range. Only 10 transactions exceeded EUR 100 million.

Despite their limited number, PwC noted that the first half of 2026 recorded the highest number of transactions above EUR 100 million in the past decade.

"Although the number of transactions over EUR 100 million seems low, this year the local market recorded in the first semester the highest number of such transactions in the last 10 years," George Ureche, Transaction Partner at PwC Romania, said.

He noted that only one transaction above EUR 100 million was recorded in the first half of 2025, compared with six in the first half of 2024, three in the same period of 2020, and none in 2015.

"Analysed over longer periods, the local transaction market shows an upward trend in the number of large-value transactions, as a sign of maturation from the perspective of businesses that become acquisition targets and investors interested in entering the local market," Ureche added.

Retail and energy drew high interest from investors. While in 2025 the healthcare, real estate, and manufacturing sectors occupied the top sectoral ranking in the first half of the year, in 2026 the hierarchy changed significantly, as evidenced by the three largest announced transactions of over EUR 500 million. Thus, retail transactions amounted to EUR 964 million, energy transactions to EUR 919 million, and financial services transactions to EUR 768 million. Real estate, which used to be one of the three largest contributors to the total value of the local transaction market, generated EUR 734 million in the first six months of the year, 14% of the total market value. In 2015, for example, over 40% of the market value was generated by this sector.

The largest transactions announced since the beginning of the year, all worth over EUR 500 million, were the acquisition of Carrefour Romania by Pavăl Holding, a transaction worth over EUR 820 million, followed by the acquisition of the Evryo Group, including Distribuție Energie Oltenia SA, by Premier Energy, in a transaction with a reported value of approximately EUR 700 million. Third place in this top is occupied by the acquisition of Garanti BBVA Romania by Raiffeisen Bank, with a value of over EUR 590 million.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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