The number of inbound merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in Romania shrank by 27% to 40 deals, but their value more than doubled to EUR 1.7 billion in 2020, according to a report compiled by consultancy firm Mazars in partnership with Mergermarket.

Much of this total was due to the largest deal of the year, which was the Australian group Macquarie's acquisition of the Romanian assets of the Czech energy company CEZ for EUR 1 bln.

Romania's total M&A market in 2020 is estimated at between EUR 3 bln (KPMG) and EUR 4.9 bln (PwC) - with Deloitte Romania providing a more flexible estimate somewhere in-between (EUR 3.7-4.3 bln).

As opposed to summing up all the deals under the category of M&A, such as the other estimates, Mazars' estimate of the inbound M&A deals provides insights into the activity of foreign investors taking over (or merging with) local targets. The more general definition also includes internal M&A deals.

The expansion of the inbound M&A market in Romania follows a rather positive dynamic in the region. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), M&A transactions reached EUR 49.2 billion, up 11% year-on-year. However, excluding Russia, the largest economy included in the region, the increase was 28%. The number of transactions decreased by 16%, to a total of 648 transactions.

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andrei@romania-insider.com