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Mazars in CEE ranks #5 for M&A Transaction Services by deal count according to ‘Mergermarket Accountant League Table 2022’

Warsaw, Prague, 25 January 2023 -  For the seventh year running, Mazars is ranked fifth by Mergermarket for the number of successful M&A Transaction Services projects advised in 2022 according to the Accountant League Table for Central & Eastern Europe.

“I am very happy that we have once again been ranked among the top 5 suppliers of M&A transaction services in Central and Eastern Europe based on the 2022 CEE Accountant League Table prepared by Mergermarket. At Mazars, we know how important it is for our clients to have a reliable partner, and this achievement confirms the highest standard of performance of our financial advisory teams. I would like to thank our clients for their trust and great cooperation. We are ready to take on new challenges in 2023,” says Michel Kiviatkowski – Mazars in CEE Financial Advisory Leader, Managing Partner of Mazars in Poland.

"The official statistics presented by year end (namely Financial Times on the worldwide picture and Mergermarket for the Czech Republic) imply that the year 2022 was weaker than the record 2021 one, while remaining rather good from the long run perspective. From the Mazars TA view, the whole year was standardly active besides two months following the Russian invasion (March-April), when demand for new Due Diligence projects from cross-border strategic investors virtually stopped. However, this was more than counterbalanced by frenetic months of May–September. The remainder of the year showed rather standard activity as percieved by us. Yet, when speaking to other advisory teams in the market, the end of the year was rather slower in terms of the ongoing SME deals volume," summarizes the last year Lukáš Hruboň - Head of M&A at Mazars in the Czech Republic.

"During 2022, we performed Due diligence projects in the following sectors: Healthcare, Wholesale, Financial services, Energy, Automotive, Real estate, Airlines, Videogames development, Environmental advisory, General B2B services, Logistics or General production.  In addition, one Corporate Finance assignment was closed in 2022 (Logistics) and we assisted our clients through ad hoc transactions related advisory”, adds Lukáš Hruboň.

In his opinion trends in the 2022 M&A market covered the following:

• Supply of companies on the block dwindled through 2022 due to (i) lower “stand-alone / status quo” target companies’ valuations stemming from decreased cash flows and/or worse risk profile; (ii) M&A transactions proceeds by the sellers cannot generally be placed in any asset class beating current inflation levels. Both channels limit motivations to sell now, particularly in non-distress situations, when the owners – individuals consider a full exit.
   
• Demand for companies might be partially hindered due to (i) higher costs of (CZK denominated) financing, (ii) generally high level of uncertainties in the economy, (iii) worsening cash flows of the buyers themselves.
   
• PE funds and Family Offices have been still quite active looking for suitable targets.
   
• EV / EBITDA valuation was affected through both channels: a) lower EBITDA adjusted measure in industries not able to fully pass through the inflationary pressures on cost side to revenues, b) corrected multiples values in external shocks heavily exposed industries / highly leveraged deals (namely those CZK denominated).
   
• Ratio of analyzed target companies reporting unsustainable leverage ratios increased y-o-y. More than half of the companies in our “sample” experienced significant downwards margin pressures during YTD22.
   
• Some acquisition projects by strategic investors solely tapped the available sub-optimally utilized production capacities, while the buyers were performing investment valuations based on the fair value’s “best use” assumption (i.e. removing the “stand-alone / status-quo” valuation constraint). Part of the planned synergies - including e.g. introduction of better margins customer base or higher utilization of capacities - were shared with the seller, which made the transactions possible pricewise.
   
• Valuation gaps were sometimes bridged through even a quite long (up to four years) earn-out schemes or staged acquisition schemes. These techniques are, however, not favorable/eligible in all price disagreement cases.

With more than 44 000 professionals in more than 90 countries around the world, Mazars is today a global firm connecting CEE with the rest of the world. From financial and tax due diligence, valuation and corporate finance support to the restructuring of underperforming businesses, Mazars Deal Advisory teams offer vendors, purchasers and financiers all the necessary skills and expertise to serve every aspect of their CEE-based transactions. Our cross-border integrated team of specialists guides our Clients not only across the transaction lifecycle but beyond the phase they are in, even beyond the transaction itself, looking at their business and sectorial needs.

Related contacts:

Lukáš Hruboň, Head of M&A at Mazars in the Czech Republic
Jaroslav Křivánek, Tax Partner, Head of FA at Mazars in the Czech Republic

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