The local merger and acquisitions market (M&A), which includes real estate sales, reached 3.3 billion euros in the first half of this year, compared with 1.1 billion euros during the same time in 2007, according to data provided by investment bank Raiffeisen Investment Romania. A total of 83 deals were signed in the first half of the year, compared with 51 in the first six months of last year.
"An over 150% increase somewhat contrasts with the current crisis international markets are experiencing. There are a lot of explanations for this. On the one hand, a deal normally takes six to eight months, with some of the deals signed at the beginning of 2008 started close to the end of last year. On the other hand, beyond the macroeconomic imbalances that can be explained in a environment with steady growth, more and more domestic companies are becoming interesting because of their size, market share and growth prospects," said Ioana Filipescu, the general manager of Raiffeisen Investment.
The value of the international M&A market fell by almost one third and reached 1,200 billion euros .
Real estate continued to be the most dynamic segment of the economy, after the value of mergers and acquisitions in this sector exceeded 1 billion euros, which accounted for 34% of the total of M&A during this period. The biggest deals concluded on this segment included the takeover by Deutsche Bank of the Upground Project for 340 million euros, the acquisition of Winmarkt shopping centre network by IDG for 182 million euros and of the Iris Shopping Centre for 147 million euros.
With the takeover by Enel of Electrica Muntenia Sud, the energy sector became the second "hottest" field this year, with financial services and insurance ranking third. The record 350 million euro deal whereby Groupama took over Asiban was the highlight of the financial world in this period. There were a total of seven deals in excess of 100 million euros (excluding Enel - Electrica Muntenia Sud), three in real estate and four in other industries: two in insurance, one in beverages and one in real estate development.
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