Regional dealmakers remain cautious about the prospects of an M&A recovery in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Nonetheless, in spite of fears surrounding a second wave of the pandemic, activity is reigniting in selected sectors, albeit under "new normal" conditions.

Advisors seek consensus on how much to discount pre-crisis valuations.

Watch Mergermarket’s Virtual Event on the M&A market outlook in Benelux in partnership with Datasite here.

Watch Mergermarket’s Virtual Event on the M&A market outlook in the CEE region here.

European M&A looks set to remain at historically low levels through 2020 with a recovery unlikely until mid-2021, as the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic and its economic consequences. 

Watch Mergermarket’s Virtual Event on the Nordic market  outlook and the impact of Covid-19 here.

The German economy is set to shrink by 10% in the three months to June as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the DACH region is yet to see the effect of the pandemic on M&A value following several large transactions announced prior to the outbreak.

The CEE region saw a healthy level of dealmaking prior to the outbreak of coronavirus, but saw a fall in March as M&A across Europe began to slow. The region saw a clear decline by value, although fared better than other parts of Europe, while the deal count fell to its lowest point in several years.

Following a record deal count in 2019, hope for a strong start to Israel’s dealmaking in 2020 has been dashed by uncertainty around coronavirus.

28 buyouts in the Technology and Business Services sectors were reported during March. 

Watch Mergermarket's webinar on UK M&A and the impact of COVID-19 here. 

Global dealmaking has been brought to a standstill in the past few weeks and activity is likely to remain subdued for the coming months, according the Mergermarket's Q1 global M&A trend report. 

The Nordic region recorded a lacklustre quarter for deal activity at the start of 2020, which will only be compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. But the region's well-established tech ecosystem should stand it in good stead.