Despite geopolitical tensions, fears of recession and strong inflationary pressures across the EU, as well as the fiscal tightening needed to contain them, M&A in the CEE region has remained reasonably buoyant. Findings from the CMS Emerging Europe M&A 2023/24 report, published in cooperation with EMIS, demonstrate the resilience of the Emerging Europe deals market as activity holds firm against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions and strong inflationary pressures.
M&A activity time trend
Overcoming adversity and significant uncertainty, levels of M&A activity in 2023 demonstrate just how resilient CEE markets have proven to be. Transaction volumes ended the year slightly down at 1,187 deals against 1,229 in 2022, but above the levels of 2019–2021. Values fell by 1.4% to EUR 32.48bn, down from a post-pandemic peak of EUR 41.3bn in 2021, but higher than in both 2019 and 2020. There was also a notable uptick in bigger deals, with seven of the top ten transactions valued at more than EUR 1bn, compared to only three deals reaching that threshold in the previous year.
Deal levels have been picking up; we have seen some big transactions in Romania with two multi-billion euro deals happening in the same year. The CEE region boasts some good economic fundamentals that won’t change because of short term difficulties: a skilled labour force, proximity to Western Europe, low transport and labour costs, and increasingly developed infrastructure.
Horea Popescu
Managing Partner
