Sixty-nine M&A transactions worth over 100,000 euros were concluded in Lithuania last year, down 38 percent from 112 in 2014, based on data from the Financial Analysts' Association (FAA) and Verslo Zinios.
"The year 2015 delivered no surprises and was broadly in line with market expectations. In fact, nobody expected the number of deals to reach the 2014 record level," said Jurate Majauskiene, a FAA member and associate partner at Summa Advisers.
Lithuania's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market appears to be set for an active year in 2016 after pausing for breath in 2015.
First and foremost, market participants this year anticipate the completion of Providence Equity Partners' acquisition of the mobile operator Bite from Mid Europa Partners. The sale of 230 Lukoil filling stations in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland to Austria's Amic Energy Management is expected to be finalized in the second quarter.
Lords LB Asset Management, which is setting up an energy and infrastructure investment fund and has announced ambitions to invest 200 million euros, is also expected to come up with some deals this year.
There is also speculation in the market that France's Vinci Concessions is interested in a Vilnius multi-functional complex concession project. China Merchants Group makes no secret of its interest in investing in the Klaipeda seaport.
The fund manager BaltCap, the most active player of the M&A market in 2015, has also mentioned that it may be interested in investing in infrastructure projects.
