Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații closed transactions worth USD 3.42bn during January – September 2008

Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații topped ISI Dealwatch league tables for emerging market M&A deal activity in terms of both the number and value of the projects in which the firm and its lawyers have been involved over the past nine months.

The M&A market in Romania witnessed a slight decline in Q3/2008 from a year ago reports ISI in its most recent market survey ISI DealWatch „Emerging Market M&A Deal Activity”. The financial crisis had a clear negative impact on the M&A market, with only 67 M&A transactions involving Romanian companies and a significant 66.5% y/y decrease in deal value to USD 1.22bn, from USD 3.65bn registered in Q3/2007. Real estate was the leading sector in terms of number of transactions (22 deals), just like in Q3/2007. In terms of deal value, however, real estate shows a significant 61.5% drop to USD 414.42mn, with just two deals above USD 100mn.

ISI DealWatch „Emerging Market M&A Deal Activity” also presents the league boards with the top financial and legal advisors having assisted in the most important transactions taking place from January to September 2008. Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații ranks first in Romania, with 11 completed deals with an aggregate value of USD 3.42bn, as shown below:

Among the most significant projects of Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații for January – September 2008, we mention: the sale of Asiban’s shares to the French insurer group – Groupama; the acquisition of the largest onshore wind farm project in Europe by CEZ; the acquisition of Iris Shopping Center by DEGI investment fund; the acquisition of a 1.63ha plot of land in the French Village by Raptis Kavouras etc.

According to the ISI DealWatch „Emerging Market M&A Deal Activity”, the aggregate deal value amounted to USD 9.27bn in January – September 2008, topping the USD 8bn recorded for full-2007. Also, the number of deals stood at 200 in this period, vs. 255 in the whole 2007.