M&A deal environment in the Baltics | key points

2020 - 11 - 18
Article by: Elijus Burgis, Dr Juozas Rimas

If you missed our webinar ‘M&A deal market environment in the Baltics’, please find key points from the broadcast here:

  • Baltic M&A is going strong with a growing number of local companies engaging in the cross-border buy-side;
  • Covid-resilient businesses can deliver premium valuations despite market uncertainty;
  • Sector trends are largely in line with what’s going on around the world, particularly e-commerce has enabled businesses, healthcare and stable cash-generating assets (especially) power & utilities);
  • Distressed M&A is currently avoided with a large cash and financing instrument influx from the government;
  • Next year is likely to see several large (EUR 100m+) transactions close in the Baltics;
  • An increasing competition makes the W&I insurance more affordable for the Baltic deals;
  • Process virtuality has not obstructed dealmaking significantly;
  • Distress acquisitions by the states are yet to be seen;
  • Regulatory approvals take longer and increasingly prevent deal closings;
  • Due diligence is becoming more sophisticated (virtual data rooms, Vendor DD, clean teams etc.)but AI/machine learning has no significant application yet;
  • Transactions driven by a generation shift should continue to accelerate.