Boss, hold on tight to your chair 'cause I'm about to knock you out! Romania's mergers and acquisitions market exploded in the first six months of 2026: 4 BILLION DOLLARS, 59% more than last year, according to EY. And no, bro, that's not government money – it's the cash of those who move, not those waiting for their paycheck on the 15th. 143 deals, that's one every 30 hours. While globally it's down 9%, here it's up. What does that mean? That those who have money are pumping money. We just watch and wonder why shawarma is now 30 lei.
Now, pay attention to the real heavyweights: the Pavăl brothers, with Dedeman, pulled the biggest trigger in H1. They bought the entire Carrefour Romania operation – 977 million dollars. Yeah, you heard right, almost a billion for a hypermarket. And they paid cash, June 30, 2026. The second biggest in Romanian retail history, after the Profi deal. What can I say, the boys from Bacău aren't messing around. They made their fortune there, from Botoșani, and now they're buying France from us. My 2008 BMW breaks down twice a month, they buy supermarket chains. Mioara, my wife, when she heard, she told me: 'See, those guys work, you drink beer with the boys.' What can I do, she's right, but I won't admit it.
In second place, Premier Energy bought Evryo Group – 824 million. That's Evryo Power and Distribuție Energie Oltenia, bought from Macquarie funds. It's the fourth biggest energy deal in the country's history. So when you think there's no power left, someone comes and drops almost a billion. Then, Raiffeisen Bank bought Garanti BBVA for 681 million. Turkish bank, Austrian bank – my salary goes into my card and leaves through the same door.
Other deals: Biofarm bought by Poland's Polpharma (335 million), six retail parks sold by South Africa's MAS to AFI Europe (327 million). And, not to forget, Prosus from the Netherlands bought 11.77% of eMAG from Iulian Stanciu for 577 million. Man, sells a stake and makes more than all of us combined.
From my point of view, this is good news. It means foreigners still believe in us. The US did eight deals, France and the Netherlands five each, Austria, Poland, Hungary four each. Foreign investors accounted for 54% of the volume. That means they're bringing cash from abroad. And strategists – those who buy to develop, not to flip – were 83% of the volume. Only 16% were investment funds, speculative. So they're not coming to take a hit and leave.
Now, the part that pisses me off: transparency. You know how many deals didn't disclose their value? 69%! Yeah, six out of ten are secret. What do you mean? In Romania, if you don't say how much you paid, it means you're hiding something. I look at the stairwell and see the neighbor got a new BMW – the whole street knows how much it cost. But when it comes to billions, suddenly it's a secret. Well, that's not right, bro. Nobody's pulling the wool over my eyes.
And so, while I'm hanging out at Fane's terrace, others are raking in cash. But, at least, know that the market is moving, investors are coming, the Pavăl brothers are home. Maybe I'll grab a piece too, who knows. Until then, I'm off to explain to Mioara that the Dedeman bosses don't have a wife who scolds them at Lidl. That's Romania for you: some buy Carrefour, others wait for the bread sale.
