Record-high deal volumes for Romania's M&A market in 2021 (survey)

Romania's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market saw a record high number of transactions last year - 137, for a total estimated value of over four billion euros, shows a survey by Deloitte Romania, Agerpres reports.

The total estimated market value for deals with disclosed price tags and undisclosed price deals was of approximately 4.44 billion euros, while the deals in the first category amounted to 2.3 billion euros, the company said in a statement. For comparison, the market value in 2020 was 3.9 - 4.1 billion euros and 2.5 billion euros, respectively.

"2021 and 2020 were very good years for Romania's M&A market. Our survey suggests that the positive momentum will continue, therefore we anticipate an unprecedented activity in the coming years," said Iulia Bratu, Deloitte Romania Corporate Finance manager.

In the Deloitte ranking of the largest 2021 transactions, the one whereby state-owned Romgaz agreed to acquire 50 percent of ExxonMobil's stake in the Black Sea offshore gas project Neptun Deep holds the top position with a reported value of 920 million euros (the completion of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of 2022).

Other A-class transactions are the acquisition of gambling operator MaxBet Romania by the London-based Novalpina Capital for an estimated 250 million euros; the takeover by Glovo of Delivery Hero's operations in the Balkan region for a reported value of 170 million euros; the purchase by the Hungarian private equity fund Adventum of Hermes Business Campus from Atenor for an estimated 150 million euros; Hidroelectrica's takeover of the Crucea Wind Farm and Steag Energie for a reported value of 130 million euros.

The most active sectors by transaction volumes were real estate (including construction), technology, energy and industry, which jointly account for 76 transactions. By the value of the deals, real estate was the most active sector, followed by energy, retail and distribution.