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On June 4, Mergermarket, in collaboration with Datasite, hosted a panel discussion of senior legal and financial advisors to explore the impact that COVID-19 has had on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the region's outlook for M&A. As we continue to navigate this global public health and economic crisis, and as parts of the CEE region enter calmer waters, we discussed which countries and sectors have shown either resilience or promise.

According to Mergermarket’s data, the CEE region (excluding Russia) has had 108 deals worth a total of €7.1bn so far in 2020. This is largely due to a strong start, with €5.4bn worth of M&A transactions taking place in the region in 1Q20 – in line with the €6bn seen in 1Q19. As COVID-19 spread and countries enforced strict lockdowns, deal activity slowed significantly to just €1.7bn in 2Q20. But even as many transactions were put on hold, several large real estate deals in Poland and the Czech Republic provided bright spots of activity for the region.

Joining our moderator, Deane McRobie, Senior Reporter for Mergermarket, were Mateusz Kacprzak, Managing Director, Head of Investment Banking at Santander, Richard Clegg, Partner at Wolf Theiss, and Zhanina Panova, VP of Sales at Datasite. View the full discussion in the video above to hear our speakers explore the cautious optimism felt in the region as deal activity begins to show signs of recovery.

Find out more information about future virtual events that Mergermarket are running here.