The Romanian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market recorded 67 transactions in Q1 2026, a 29% increase from the same period of the previous year, when 52 transactions were reported, shows a survey conducted by EY Romania.
This growth was supported by a much stronger start to the year, with January making a decisive contribution, while volumes in February and March remained broadly in line with last year's levels.
The first quarter also delivered a robust result in terms of reported transaction value, marking the highest level ever recorded in a first quarter, with a total of $2.2 billion (compared with $157 million in Q1 2025). This surge was driven mainly by two large deals that together accounted for approximately $1.7 billion of the total. At the same time, the estimated value of local M&A activity reached $2.9 billion in Q1 2026, up from $765 million in Q1 2025, surpassing the previous first-quarter peak recorded in 2023.
The largest transaction announced in Q1 2026 was the acquisition of Carrefour's operations in Romania by local financial investor Paval Holding, the investment group associated with Dedeman, one of Romania's most successful entrepreneurial businesses. The deal was valued at $977 million, placing it just below the mega-deal threshold. It ranks as the second-largest retail transaction announced in Romania, surpassed only by the $1.4 billion sale of Profi Rom in 2024. The transaction follows Paval Holding's 2025 acquisition of Praktiker Hellas from Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited for $151 million.
The long-awaited sale of Garanti BBVA to Raiffeisen Bank International for $681 million, announced at the end of the quarter, also contributed to the strong close of Q1 2026 and reflects both sustained deal appetite and the ongoing consolidation trend in the financial services sector.
Strategic investors continued to dominate the Romanian M&A market in Q1 2026, accounting for 87% of all transactions. Financial investors represented 13% of the volume, with notable activity from established players such as Paval Holding (two acquisitions) and MidEuropa Partners (one acquisition). Buyers backed by investment funds were involved in around one fifth of the transactions announced in the first quarter.
The sharp increase in activity was driven exclusively by inbound transactions, whose volume rose 76% year-on-year to 37 deals in Q1 2026, underscoring the sustained interest of foreign investors in the Romanian market. Acquisitions by foreign investors continued to outpace sales by foreign investors (27 transactions), reinforcing Romania's position as a net beneficiary of foreign investment. By contrast, domestic transaction volume remained broadly stable at 24 transactions, representing more than one third of total activity.
The real estate, hospitality and construction sector remained the most active in Q1 2026, with 19 transactions, double the level recorded in Q1 2025. It was followed by technology, media and telecommunications with 11 transactions, and healthcare and life sciences with 10. Energy and utilities and advanced manufacturing and mobility each recorded 9 transactions.
The United States was the most active foreign investor in Q1 2026, with 4 transactions, followed by Hungary, Switzerland and Poland, each with 3.
The first quarter of 2026 also brought changes to Romania's legal framework for examining foreign direct investment (FDI), including raising the notification threshold from 2 million euros to 5 million euros, clarifying the treatment of internal restructurings, and extending the review obligation to certain asset acquisitions in sensitive sectors such as critical technologies, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, defense and agri-food. While these changes provide greater clarity, they may also lead to increased scrutiny of asset-based transactions, with potential implications for deal timing and execution.
EY is one of the world's largest professional services firms, with 406,209 employees in more than 700 offices across 150 countries and revenues of approximately $53.2 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. Present in Romania since 1992, EY provides integrated audit, tax, legal, strategy, transaction and consulting services through its more than 1,000 employees in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
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