The value of the Romanian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market increased by 160, exceeding €3bn in 2015, PwC Romania said in a report released on February 23. One year earlier, the M&A market remained roughly constant from 2013, at €1.2bn.

The upsurge in 2015 was a result of the global trend driven by low interest rates, among other factors, as the global M&A market hit a new record, after the previous record was set in 2007.

Among the largest deals last year in Romania, UniCredit took over the stake held by Ion Tiriac in local bank UniCredit Tiriac for an estimated €700mn. Real estate deals also contributed to the large volume of the market reported last year.

Most deals were registered in the industrial products and real-estate sectors, with an average deal value €26mn, most of the deals being small and medium sized transactions. The most dynamic sectors in terms of M&A activity were energy, pharmaceuticals and FMCG.

Anda Rojanschi, partner at D&B David şi Baias, the affiliated law firm of PwC Romania, and coordinator of the tax and legal services M&A team, said that optimism in the market was growing, and 2016 “started on a positive note” with major transactions including Lactalis’ acquisition of dairy producer Albalact, Nextebank’s investment in Carpatica banca and the takeover of McDonalds Romania by Maltese Premier Capital.

“[W]e expect that the local M&A market to remain on an upward path in 2016, with deals in sectors that were active in 2015 as well, such as banking or real-estate, but also in … the healthcare services market, as well as an increase in transactions in agriculture,” Rojanschi said.