The volume of announced deals involving UK targets in the first two quarters of the year fell 68.6% compared to the same period last year, leading to the quietest start to a calendar year for dealmaking since 2009.

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.

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.

A lack of megadeals compared to the year prior caused European TMT M&A activity to decline by 36.3% in value in 2019 to EUR 108.4bn, according to Mergermarket data. Based on deal volume, however, the region hit a record high notching up a total of 1,413 TMT deals in 2019 compared to 1,338 in 2018.

Cyber security in M&A deals and value creation strategies were just some of the topics discussed at the Italian M&A and Private Equity Forum. 

99% of dealmakers would do business in the CEE region again.

Media M&A has hit the ground running in 2018 with Comcast’s proposed $40.9bn takeover of Sky.

As regulators returned to the fray following the summer to continue what has been a fizzing year of antitrust enforcement PaRR brought lawyers, in-house counsel and regulators together to discuss some of the hot topics under consideration in Europe.

Media houses and software development companies most likely to be sold in the region

Agne Mazeike and Katharine Dennys from Mergermarket summarise the key trends for the year ahead in the Baltic deal market.

US M&A has hit new heights in 2014. This has been driven by three sectors, which are forging ahead of other industries.