Poland, Austria, and Romania were the CEE region’s top M&A deal generators in terms of volume in 2024, a pattern that has remained unchanged over the past three years, according to Mazars.
In terms of aggregate deal value, Hungary took the top spot with transactions totalling EUR 6.5bn, followed by Poland (EUR 5.8bn) and Austria (EUR 4.9bn), though most of Hungary’s aggregate deal value was generated by just two large transactions.
With 138 deal announcements in 2024, Romania has seen a 6% increase in deal volume from the previous year, reaffirming its strong presence in the regional market, although the total value of these deals dropped by 41% to EUR 2.4 billion.
Innovative tech and sturdy industrials assets were the top attractions for inbound dealmakers in 2024. The technology sector generated the greatest number of deals, contributing a grand total of 216 transactions (representing 17% of all activity), of which nearly two-thirds (133) were led by bidders from outside the region. After technology, the next biggest contributor to inbound M&A was the industrials sector, with a total of 82 deals by non-CEE acquirers.