“We are registering a lot of interest in Greek assets that are on the radar of international investors, while deals are taking place that we were not aware of before,” he said. Kyriakos AndreouDeputy Managing Director and Head of Consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, yesterday during the presentation of the annual acquisitions And mergers (Basic Hellas last year. According to a study by the consulting firm, 2022 saw the largest number of mergers and acquisitions since at least 2008, totaling 10.4 billion euros. They consist of 94 transactions with an average value (each) of 110 million euros, while their total value increased by 23.7% or 6.1 billion euros compared to 2021.

The leading M&A sectors are financial services (26.2%), food and beverage (22.9%), telecommunications (17.8%) and energy (10.8%). The top five deals in 2022, worth €4.2bn, representing 41% of the total, are dominated by the participation of foreign investors. For example, the American Mondelez International acquired Chipita (1.4 billion euros), Wind Hellas came under the control of the United Group (1 billion euros), and JP Morgan acquired Viva Wallet (754 million euros).

Based PwC survey, the increase in the average value of incoming transactions, which account for almost 35% of the total and at the same time have the highest average value of transactions (203 million euros), is a vote of confidence in Greek businesses. At the same time, outgoing transactions are declining, accounting for 12% of the total for the period 2008-2022. As for the transactions carried out by Greek funds, they occupy the largest part, having recorded a noticeable increase, and now account for 53% of the total. Greek fund transactions are the highest since 2011, and in 2010 they accounted for 73% of the total.

In addition, Greek businesses have attracted about 6.2 billion euros from foreign investors, the amount increased by 227% compared to 2021, while the increase in the authorized capital on the Athens Stock Exchange, covered by strategic investors, amounted to only 489 million euros. For example, MBC Group was involved in the capital increase – it was the largest – of the Antenna group in the amount of 225 million euros. Last year there were also minority deals worth €887m, of which 49.2% was in the entertainment sector.

Last year, state revenues from privatization amounted to 595 million euros, and this year the estimated revenues are estimated at about 2 billion euros.

In 2022, real estate investment company Ble Kedros and real estate development company Dimand were listed on the main market of the Athens Stock Exchange, with four delistings (Nikas, Karamolegos Bread Industry, Byte Computer and European Trust). There were also six restructurings last year, the value of which PwC says is difficult to estimate because litigation usually involves a partial sale of balance sheet items with debt assumed.

In corporate bond issuance, activity was lower compared to 2021 as a result of the energy crisis and higher inflation. That is, last year there were four issues (Premia, Safe Bulkers Offerings, Lamda Development, CPLP Shipping Holdings PLC) with a total value of 530 million euros out of 14 in 2021, a total of 4.2 billion euros.

Last year, state revenues from privatization amounted to 595 million euros, while this year the estimated revenues are about 2 billion euros, with Egnatia Odos holding the lion’s share. It is also expected that revenues from the use of regional ports and marinas (Itea, Lefkimmi – Corfu), TAIPED properties such as thermal tourism facilities will slightly exceed 300 million euros. In total, privatization revenues from 2011 to 2022 amounted to 8.3 billion euros.

Synthetic securitization has seen a big rise in 2022 as a means of mitigating bank risk, with NPL sales projected to exceed €10 billion in book value in 2023. This year, according to PwC, sales of large NPLs in the primary and secondary markets, including securitizations, are estimated at 10 billion euros in book value. In total, the value of overdue credit transactions is 400 million euros. What awaits us in 2023? According to PwC research, M&A costs are expected to be at 2022 levels “despite global geopolitical developments.”