However, adding unsecured transactions, the total of the market is between 500 and 600 million euros, just like in the similar period last year, according to Deloitte estimates.

"After the end of 2017, which was a record, mergers and acquisitions started slowly but we remain optimistic about this year's M & A market. We have included a single transaction with an officially announced value of over € 100 million in this period, compared with five in the last quarter of 2017", said Ioana Filipescu, Merger & Acquisitions Consultant, Deloitte Romania.

In total, 19 transactions were announced in the first quarter of this year, including those whose value was not officially announced. In the similar period of 2017, 30 transactions were announced.

Deloitte's analysis excludes transactions worth less than € 5 million, and a significant number of transactions below this level were announced in the first quarter of this year. (source: businessmagazin.ro)