Overview of M&A activity in the Baltics in 2019
2019 - a challenging yet fruitful year for the Baltics
In comparison with a particularly successful 2018, there has been a significant decline in the M&A activity in the Baltics in 2019 with a decrease of 19% in the amount of announced deals. IT has kept the leading position in the three countries as the industry with the most deals announced in 2019, amounting to a total of 23 transactions, attracting significant interest form both financial and strategic investors. The most unexpected growth in M&A activity was seen within the financial services industry, especially in Lithuania.
The main reason for the decreasing levels of M&A in the Baltics can be attributed to the declining proportion of strategic investors as a consequence of insufficient availability of deal financing coming from traditional banks, mainly due to the decrease of their risk appetite and stricter KYC/AML regulations. As a consequence, the region did experience more traction coming from mezzanine funds and alternative lenders.
Industries with the highest number of announced deals
Largest deals in the Baltics
