PwC report: M&A activity in Romania stays at EUR 1.2 bln

The Romanian mergers and acquisitions market stood at around EUR 1.2 billion, in 2014, a similar level to that in 2013, according to a PwC Romania analysis. The average deal value was below EUR 20 million, as most transactions were small or medium sized. The highest number of deals was in the IT&C sector. “Although we felt in 2014 a renewed enthusiasm for the M&A activity in Romania, we are not yet at the transaction levels reached before the global financial crisis”, said Radu Stoicoviciu, Advisory Leader with PwC Romania. The overall M&A value in Romania was the third largest in Central and Eastern Europe, after those of Poland and the Czech Republic, countries that traditionally have larger M&A markets. Both global and European M&A markets increased in 2014 closing to the levels in 2007, the biggest M&A year on record. “We expect a steady increase in M&A activity in Romania in 2015, driven by improved growth perspectives and renewed investor confidence. We also hope the recently announced BCE quantitative easing programme will lead to an increase of foreign investments in Romania”, said Anda Rojanschi, Partner with D&B David si Baias, PwC’s affiliate law firm. She runs the firm’s M&A practice. PwC Romania considers the IT&C, healthcare and services sectors to have the highest M&A potential this year. Financial services will also continue the consolidation process. PwC is one of the leading M&A consultancy firms in Romania. Last year, it assisted some large deals, such as the sale of Millenium Bank Romania to OTP Bank, the sale of CME’s radio stations to RCS&RDS, and the acquisition of United Shipping Agency port operator by Chinese group Nidera. Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com