M&A Spotlight: CEE

Central and Eastern Europe remains attractive to dealmakers as 89% of survey respondents say they would invest in the region again.

Mergermarket is pleased to present the latest edition of Wolf Theiss Corporate Monitor’s M&A Spotlight on CEE/SEE. This report surveyed 150 senior-level executives regarding their dealmaking experience in CEE/SEE and offers analysis of M&A activity in the region.

Key findings include:

Investors’ experience of M&A in CEE/SEE is overwhelmingly positive. 89% of survey respondents say that their past experience of investing in CEE/SEE has made them more likely to invest in the region again.
Deal volume in the region held steady in spite of a global drop-off. 481 deals were recorded in 2019, matching 2018’s total, in contrast to the 8% decline in volume witnessed in Western Europe. Also, while deal value fell 17% to €19.6bn in CEE/SEE, this was less steep than the 23% drop in M&A value that Western Europe saw over the same period.
Poland has solidified its reputation as a gateway to the region. 2019 saw Poland overtake Austria as the leading investment destination by deal value in 2019, with deals worth €11.6bn in total. As both the largest economy in CEE/SEE and its most populous country, Poland has seen unbroken economic growth for almost three decades and is expected to see continued robust growth in 2020.
The consumer and leisure and TMT sectors led the way in terms of deal volume and value respectively. The consumer and leisure sector saw the most activity in 2019 in terms of deal volume, accounting for 22%. Meanwhile TMT established its position as the best-performing sector by value. Entering 2020, these sectors continue to attract the most attention: both were cited by 38% of respondents as sectors in which they are likely to invest, closely followed by industrials and chemicals (34%) and PMB (33%).

Read the full report here.

Central & Eastern Europe Public M&A Research & Data Published: 13 January