Romanian M&A market evolution during H1 2025

Romanian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) reached an estimated total value of USD 4.1bn¹ in the first half of 2025, marking a 45% increase from USD 2.8bn in H1 2024.The market’s underlying strength remains clear, with total disclosed deal values reaching USD 2.8bn in H1 2025 — a 185% increase compared to USD 962m in H1 2024. However, Romanian M&A continues to be less transparent with deal values not disclosed for 73% of announced transactions in H1 2025, exceeding the historical average of 66% recorded since 2018. This market evolution is accompanied by a rise in global deal values by around 30% compared to 2024 levels. Notwithstanding this, global deal-making fell short of beginning-of-the-year expectations as global trade disruptions and renewed geopolitical tensions dampened investor sentiment. The robust performance of Romanian M&A contrasts with the broader European landscape, where deal values saw a slight 4% decline in H1 2025.

In terms of volume, Romanian M&A recorded 139 transactions² in H1 2025—up 9% from 127 deals in H1 2024 and broadly flat compared to H2 2024. This represents the second-highest half-yearly deal count on the record. The consistent level of activity underlines the market’s resilience, even amid wider macroeconomic uncertainty.

Strategic investors retained their dominant hold on Romanian M&A during the first half of 2025, accounting for 87% of deal volume (121), down from 93% in H1 2024 (118 deals). Meanwhile, private equity activity gained momentum, with acquisitions rising to 9% of total deals valued at USD 621m, up from 6% share in the same period last year, none of which had disclosed values.

In the first half of 2025, 4 transactions with disclosed value surpassing USD 100m were recorded, up from 3 in 2024. CVC Capital Partners have been a driving force behind such transactions and specifically in terms of private equity capital deployed in Romania in H1 2025.

In June, CVC and Therme Group announced a USD 1.2bn joint venture aimed at expanding Therme’s experiential wellness offering throughout Europe. The announcement followed Therme Group’s December 2024 acquisition of Therme Erding in Germany (the world’s largest wellness facility). While in April 2025 CVC announced the acquisition of the Regina Maria private healthcare network via its portfolio company Mehiläinen. These two transactions mean CVC’s commitments in Romania have exceeded EUR 2bn in the last two months.

From a cross-border perspective, the share of domestic M&A held steady at 42% in H1 2025, while the number of such transactions increased slightly from 53 in H1 2024 to 58. Meanwhile, foreign investor appetite increased by 3% compared to H1 2024 (66 vs 64 deals), representing nearly half of total deal volume and remaining in line with historical trends. Moreover, inbound acquisitions significantly outpaced foreign-owned disposals (42 deals) in H1 2025, reinforcing the market’s position as a net beneficiary of foreign investment.

The most active sectors by deal volume were Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction (30 transactions), Advanced Manufacturing & Mobility (23), Health & Life Sciences (18), followed by Energy & Utilities and Technology, Media & Telecommunications, each recording 17 transactions.

Largest transactions in H1 2025

• Mid Europa’s sale of Regina Maria in Romania and MediGroup in Serbia to CVC-backed Mehiläinen, Finland’s largest private healthcare provider, in a transaction valued at approximately USD 1.4bn for the Romanian operations. EY supported Mehiläinen comprehensively in the transaction by providing financial, tax, technology, ESG, HR, and operational due diligence services, along with tax structuring.
• A 50% stake acquisition in Therme Horizon by CVC Capital Partners, valued at approximately USD 575m³. The newly created holding company comprises Therme Bucharest and Therme Erding, two of Europe’s most visited wellbeing destinations, together welcoming approximately 3.5 million guests annually. EY’s multidisciplinary teams provided buy-side financial and tax due diligence services.

Other notable transactions:

• The sale of 70% stake in La Cocos retail chain to Schwarz Gruppe for an estimated USD 117m. This follows the acquisition of a 56% stake in La Cocos by CEECAT Capital, Morphosis Capital, and the EBRD around the same period last year.
• The acquisition of Urgent Cargus by rival courier company Sameday for an undisclosed value, completed a trio of exits in Romania for Mid Europa.

This year marked a shift in deal origin, with the United Kingdom surpassing the United States (top foreign investor historically) for the first time by recording 11 deals. The US followed with 8, then Poland (6), Germany (5), the Czech Republic (4), and both Austria and France with 3 each.

Note: (1) EY’s M&A database for Romania excludes transactions with stakes acquired of less than 15% as well as the transaction value for multi-country deals if the value of the country-specific assets are not disclosed.

(2) includes an estimate of the value of transactions where no data was formerly disclosed by the parties or is not available in third party databases and/or reported by media sources

(3) Amount corresponding to 50% stake acquired in the Therme Horizon joint venture – Source: https://www.cvc.com/media/news/2025/therme-group-and-cvc-to-partner-on-1-billion-therme-horizon-joint-venture-to-expand-wellbeing-destination-platform/