Taking into consideration the last six years, 2015 was the most successful in Hungary in terms of M&A activity, based on the number of closed transactions, EY noted. Altogether 130 transactions were closed in the country, 28 more than in the preceding year. Hungary ranked fourth in the region in terms of transactions, followed Turkey (312), Poland (278) and Czech Republic (185). 

The estimated value of the Hungarian market’s M&A transactions in 2015 exceeded $1.5 billion, up 20% as compared to 2013.

The Hungarian market is still dominated by domestic deals, and in 61% of closed deals, both the buyer and the seller were Hungarian-based companies, similar to last yearʼs figures, EY said. In the case of foreign buyers, investors from the United States and Germany closed the most deals, six each, closely followed by the United Kingdom and Czech Republic with five deals each.

The most M&A transactions took place in the IT and technology sector representing 28% of the total, while the energetics and mining sector represented 13% and the processing industry 9% of all transactions.

“Following the low-point of M&A activity in Hungary in 2012, the market has continued the growth it began in 2013, both in terms of number of transactions and of their estimated value,” Margaret Dezse, Partner of Transaction Advisory Services at EY said. “We hope this positive trend will continue in the future,” she added.