Wed, January 21, 2015

New CMS, AIG and EMIS DealWatch report shows slower M&A deal flow in 2014 and cautious optimism for 2015

20 January 2014, Press Release

International law firm CMS, AIG and EMIS today publish their “Emerging Europe: M&A Report 2014/15”.

M&A activity in emerging Europe saw a sharp 43% drop in deal values in 2014, falling from €112 billion in 2013 to €64 billion in 2014.

The number of deals announced with a value above €1 million recorded a 14% annual decline to 2,198 transactions.

• Manufacturing was the most active sector by number of deals, with 364 deals representing 17% of all transactions.

• Mining (including oil & gas) was the leading sector in terms of deal value, at over €10 billion, accounting for nearly 17% of the overall market.

• M&A in Russia accounted for 33% of all deals in emerging Europe and 47% of the total deal value in 2014. Poland came second with a 13% share of deal numbers, closely followed by Turkey with 12%.

• Private equity funds – known for their higher risk appetite – had a relatively good year in the region as the number of PE-related deals rose by 6% to 248.

Helen Rodwell, CMS CEE Corporate Partner states:

‘There are signs of market recovery across the region. We are witnessing increasing interest from global private equity players both in midsize – and often family or founder-owned – businesses across the region as well as in larger assets that are coming onto the market due to privatisation programmes or secondary sales, including various infrastructure assets. Although the levels of activity across the region still vary widely – with countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia showing record deal volumes – on the whole we are upbeat about the year to come.’

Radivoje Petrikić, CMS CEE Corporate Partner adds:

‘CMS remains optimistic about deal flow in CEE in 2015. Deals that are currently in the pipeline, as well as new deals resulting from numerous restructuring projects in the region, are sure to keep us busy in the coming year.’

Boris Maleshkov, Head of Editorial, EMIS adds:

‘Tensions between Moscow and Kiev as well as renewed speculation of Greece’s potential exit from the Eurozone will be a drag on regional M&A activity in 2015. However, we believe that large transactions in Poland, especially in the energy and banking sectors, and the ambitious privatisation programmes launched by the governments in Turkey and Romania, will bring some relief to regional market players.’

Angus Marshall, AIG comments:

‘We are observing that W&I insurance is becoming an increasingly regular feature of the M&A landscape in the region and noted a record number of policies being issued in 2014, especially for property transactions. We anticipate demand for W&I insurance on property transactions to remain strong in 2015, and regional interest in W&I insurance for non-property M&A transactions to expand significantly, with Poland leading the way.’

To acquire the full version of the “Emerging Europe: M&A Report 2014/15,” please contact Melania Kozyra (melania.kozyra@cms-cmck.com) or EMISPRO DealWatch marketing team (emis-europe@securities.com).

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CMS

Founded in 1999, CMS is a full-service top 10 international law firm, based on the number of lawyers (Am Law 2013 Global 100). With 59 offices in 33 countries across the world, employing over 3,000 lawyers, CMS has longstanding expertise both at advising in its local jurisdictions and across borders. CMS acts for a large number of Fortune 500 companies and the FT European 500 and for the majority of the DAX 30.  Revenues totalled €842m in 2013.

CMS provides a wide range of expertise across 18 expert practice and sector areas including Corporate, Energy, Funds, Lifesciences/Pharmaceuticals, TMT, Tax, Banking and Finance, Commercial, Competition, Dispute Resolution, Employment, Intellectual Property and Real Estate & Construction.

For more information, please visit www.cmslegal.com.

CMS offices and associated offices: Aberdeen, Algiers, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Beijing, Belgrade, Berlin, Bratislava, Bristol, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Casablanca, Cologne,  Dubai, Duesseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow, Hamburg, Istanbul, Kyiv, Leipzig, Lisbon, Ljubljana, London, Luxembourg, Lyon, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Montenegro, Moscow, Munich, Muscat, Paris, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Sarajevo, Seville, Shanghai, Sofia, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Tirana, Utrecht, Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb and Zurich.

EMIS

Founded in 1994, EMIS (formerly known as ISI Emerging Markets) was acquired by Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC in 1999. EMIS delivers electronic information products, by subscription, to institutional customers through its global network of offices. EMIS provides hard-to-get information covering more than 100 emerging markets. Its flagship products are EMIS Intelligence and EMIS Professional.

For over two decades, customers across the globe have relied on EMIS to target, analyse and act on information about emerging markets. We gather deep, rich company and industry intelligence, hard-to-get information, research and analytical data, peer comparisons and more to help you and your clients make well-informed decisions. We are your one central point of contact to deliver the news and content that you need. Personalisation is the hallmark of our services, so you receive just the kind and amount of information you want to see, in a single country, or a group of countries.

For more information, please visit www.emis.com

 AIG

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading international insurance organization serving customers in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions. AIG companies serve commercial, institutional, and individual customers through one of the most extensive worldwide property-casualty networks of any insurer. In addition, AIG companies are leading providers of life insurance and retirement services in the United States. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.