Major rise in mergers and acquisitions
Last year was a landmark one for merger and acquisition (M&A) deals among Greek enterprises, PwC Greece said in a report released on Monday, with Greek enterprises raising 12 billion euros from M&A activity, corporate bond issues, share capital increase schemes and privatizations, the highest sum on record.
Kyriakos Andreou, deputy CEO in PwC Greece, said local enterprises exploited the positive dynamics of the economy despite the energy and inflationary crisis and rising interest rates. Focusing on the economy, he said that Greece restored its credibility and investment confidence in the period 2021-2022. However, he added that the country must maintain the positive momentum and adhere to reforms, fiscal discipline and timetables set by the Recovery Fund in 2023. He noted that foreign investors showed increased interest for Greek enterprises, with the average value of incoming transactions totaling €203 million in 2022, up from €138 million in the previous year. “There is a very marked for Greek assets,” Andreou stressed.
He went on to note that the dynamism of M&A activity will continue this year despite global geopolitical developments, with a number of agreed transactions currently at the final stage of negotiations, led by tourism and renewable energy sources. In addition, privatizations will come to fore because of the expected listing of the Athens International Airport on the Athens Stock Exchange.
PwC said a total of 94 M&A transactions worth €10.4 billion were made in 2022, up from €4.3 billion in 2021, with the average value of transactions at €110 million. The financial services sector (26.2%), food/beverage (22.9%), telecoms and technology (17.8%) and energy (10.8%) attracted the biggest interest.
Incoming transactions covered more than one-third of the total in 2022, with an average value of €203 million. In total, Greek enterprises raised around €6.2 billion from foreign investors, up 227% from 2021, while domestic transactions grew by 148%. On the other hand, corporate bond issuance was hit by higher interest rates, the energy crisis and higher inflation rates, raising €530 million through four issues. Share capital increases were only six, raising €489 million, with two initial public offerings and four delisting on the Athens Stock Exchange. State revenue from privatizations totaled €595 million in 2022.
