A 24 percent increase in the number of transactions drew a 186 percent increase in the value of transactions closed in Romania last year which worth EUR 2.96 billion, also reads the study.
“Although the businesses under review vary in size, background and economic growth, the market illustrates an increase in M&A activity in terms of volume when compared to 2013. More specifically, it can be observed a majority of domestic transactions – 55 percent of all deals. Also noteworthy is the fact that transactions were dominated by financial investors and the most active target industry was the services sector, while in terms of value the largest transactions occurred in IT (EUR 164.1 million), real estate (EUR 50.6 million) and services (EUR 118.6 million) segments,” reads a press release issued on Thursday by EY Romania.
The number of closed transactions in Romania last year was 182 and the transaction value was disclosed for 66 deals, resulting in a disclosure rate of 36 percent, in range with the previous year.
The top three most active industries in Romania by volume are services (25 deals), retail & wholesale (20 deals) and IT (16 deals), while the countries by number of transactions performed in Romania are Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.
Moreover, the Romanian transaction market, although dominated by domestic transactions with 55 percent in 2014 of total number of deals, saw inbound transactions increasing by 26 percent, but kept its weight in the total volume of transactions compared to the same period last year. The number of outbound transactions stood the same as the previous year.
Financial investors represented 53 percent out of the total transactions against 37 percent in 2013. Deals closed by strategic investors in 2014 represent 47 percent of total deals, down 16 percent compared to previous year.
Also last year, Romania had the largest transaction in IT in CSE, after LiveRail Inc. was bought by Facebook for EUR 470.6 million. (source: business-review.eu)
