April 20 (SeeNews) - The value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) increased last year in all six countries of Southeast Europe (SEE) covered in a report published by global consultancy Ernst&Young (EY).
The combined value of M&A deals in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia rose by 92% year-on-year to $11.9 billion (9.7 billion euro) in 2017, EY said in its M&A Barometer Central and Southeast Europe 2017.
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In Romania, M&A deals worth $5.2 billion (3.58 million euro) were concluded in 2017, up from $3.54 billion in 2016.
Serbia and Slovenia experienced the highest year-on-year growth in 2017. The Serbian M&A market increased to $600 million from $40 million, while Slovenia saw deals worth $1.5 billion, up from $300 milliona year earlier.
In the six SEE countries, a total of 287 M&A transactions were closed last year, up from 236 deals in 2016.
Romania led by the number of transactions closed last year with 145 deals, while Serbia trailed the list with 22.
Details of the report follow:
|
value of deals 2016/2017 (in bln $) |
Most active sector (by deal volume) |
Foreign investor (number of deals) |
Bulgaria |
0.7/2.2 |
Food, manufacturing, IT |
Sweden (2), South Africa (2) |
Croatia |
0.4/0.7 |
Services, real estate, energy |
Belgium (2), Germany (2) |
Greece |
1.3/1.7 |
IT |
US (3), UK (3), Cyprus (3) |
Romania |
3.5/5.2 |
Manufacturing, IT |
US (15), Germany (13), Czech Republic (10) |
Serbia |
0.04/0.6 |
Manufacturing |
Slovenia (2) |
Slovenia |
0.3/1.5 |
Manufacturing |
Czech Republic (2), Serbia (2) |
Source: EY
($=0.8122 euro)