If at the beginning of the year, there was certain frenzy in the local M&A market, and all the problems seemed to have vanished on the positive economic growth outlook, the optimism around a recovery in the mergers and acquisitions market (M&A) faded and new bankruptcies came along, said Marian Dinu, managing partner DLA Piper at the M&A Outlook 2010 conference, a project supported by Enterprise Investors, Ernst&Young and Ensight Management Consulting.
Marian Dinu (photo) gave the example of the insolvency against Diverta retail chain, member of RTC holding, namely of DTH Television Group, owner of the digital television company Boom TV.
“2010 will be no exception to the financial crisis and its effects. The big question is whether we are ready for a new year of crisis or not. Government expectations are not justified, but let’s hope they won’t do anything that could make the economic conditions worse than they already are”, said Marian Dinu.
Even if the situation isn’t any better, he continued, the worse thing companies can do now is “stand still and wait”.
A solution for emerging from financial crisis lies in the consolidation of the industry, the representative of DLA Piper providing two options for coping with liquidity shortages – finding new financing sources, and reduce debts.
In order to find new sources of financing, companies have three options – sell everything (a good option in case of valid businesses), to sell majority stake and keep a minority interest in the company, and merger between peers, that most of the times is hindered by cultural differences and interests.
On the other hand, insolvency can be seen as an opportunity to clear debts. “People are now more open minded and are aware of the fact they need a reorganization. Also, banks do want to find a solution for distressed companies. I’ve seen more reticence fr
