Mergers&Aquisitions market in Romania up 32pct in 2021, to 6.2 B US dollars

The total value of transactions (M&A - mergers and acquisitions) in Romania in 2021 reached 6.2 billion US dollars (5.2 billion euros), an increase by 32pct against the previous year, which shows the solid confidence of investors in the Romanian business environment and in its post-Covid recovery, especially in the second half of the year, say the representatives of EY Romania.According to the same source, 178 transactions were recorded last year. "Romania's M&A activity saw a strong recovery in 2021 compared to 2020, both in terms of value and number of transactions. Market transparency remains low, with the value of transactions being announced for only about a third of them," the same press release reads."Romania remains an attractive investment destination for foreigners, with capital inflows accounting for 41pct of total transactions. The most active foreign investors came from the US (11 transactions), Germany, France and Switzerland (5 transactions each), followed by those from the UK (4 transactions), Italy and Poland (3 transactions each). Romanian investments abroad remain modest, representing only 5pct of activity, a basically unchanged level compared to 2020 in terms of the number of transactions."According to EY Romania, the three main transactions of 2021 were: the acquisition of ExxonMobil's 50pct stake in the Neptune Deep offshore project by Romgaz, with 1.07 billion US dollars, the acquisition of the remaining 46pct stake in Globalworth Real Estate Investments Ltd, a real estate investment company based in Romania and listed on the London Stock Exchange by a consortium of companies in Luxembourg (CPI Property Group - Aroundtown), for a price of approximately 844 million US dollars and the acquisition of the Romanian gambling operator MaxBet by the British private equity fund Novaplina Capital, for 296 million US dollars.But the year 2021 was not only a solid year for the M&A activity, it also marked a record in terms of listings of equity securities and bonds. Corporate bonds took the lion's share of listings, with a total of 29 new issues totaling 1.1 billion US dollars.Present in Romania since 1992, EY has over 800 employees in Romania and the Republic of Moldova provides integrated audit services, tax, legal, strategy and transaction assistance, consulting to multinational and local companies.