The Romanian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market amounted to 987 million euros in the July-November 2009 period, almost double against the level recorded in the first half of the year, of just 453 million euros.
"I am one of those who do not perceive these transactions as signs of a rebound, I put each particular one in context. Moreover, I think 2010 may generate the awaited opportunities as far as distressed assets are concerned (assets of troubled companies), which did not materialise in 2009, and very little activity in the traditional M&A sector," said Ioana Filipescu, managing director of Raiffeisen Investment Romania.
A first such example emerged in mid-December, when PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), liquidator of EFG Crevedia Development, sold a 124-hectare plot located close to Bucharest for 11.17 million euros in an auction. The transaction was sealed at less than 9 euros/square metre, i.e. a discount of over 75% on the valuation made a year ago by the group of British investors that bought the plot.
The market was revived towards the end of the year by the around 200 million-euro transactions sealed by investment funds that entered sectors such as food retail, private medical services, real estate and the Internet.
The most recent transactions include the takeover by Enterprise Investors of discount retailer Profi, for which it paid 66 million euros and the sale by the Marcu family of a minority stake in MedLife in a 20 million-euro deal. This autumn also saw the first transaction with office buildings in 2009 after the real estate division of German group Deutsche Bank signed the contract to take over the biggest office building in Bucharest, located in Pipera (northern Bucharest), which is called BOC. The deal was sealed for 100 million euros.
Even considering the boost received lately, the overall M&A market amounted to 1.4
