Emerging Europe deal activity rebounds, reaching highest levels since 2018

Key points:

• Dealmaking in the CEE region is increasingly buoyant.
• Transaction volume was up last year, and market conditions show potential for more deals to be done.
• The International Monetary Fund forecasts that European emerging market economies are anticipated to grow by 3.1% in 2025, compared with 1.4% in Europe’s advanced economies.
• Emerging Europe to benefit from sustained growth, a robust financial ecosystem, and an increasingly digitalised economy.

Findings from the CMS Emerging Europe M&A 2024/25 report, published in cooperation with EMIS, demonstrate the resilience of the Emerging Europe deal market as activity rose to the highest levels since 2018. Market confidence has been bolstered by improving economic conditions and a greater sense of stability as inflation continues to subside, and central banks cautiously anticipate further interest rate cuts.

The report shows that deal flow in Emerging Europe increased by 8% compared with 2023, with 1,281 deals announced in 2024. However, despite higher deal volume, aggregate deal value fell by 30.9% to EUR 25.72bn. Values were impacted by the relative absence of “megadeals” valued at EUR 1bn or more. In 2024, there was a shift towards small and mid-market deals. Average deal value fell to EUR 20.1m in 2024 compared with EUR 31.4m in 2023.

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