The ever-increasing scrutiny of working conditions continues to affect the retail industry. She has almost completely recovered from the pandemic. Yet with its reliance on hourly workers, its youthful workforce, its vulnerability to economic trends, its difficulties with hybrid work, and the revolution in customer experience brought about by online sales, retail presents challenges and opportunities that are similar in several industries.
M&A activity in CEE appears to be at its highest levels in several years, with particularly strong interest in the TMT, health care, logistics and manufacturing sectors. Financial sponsors, including private equity, continue to play an important role. While there appear to be fewer large cap LBOs, private equity is increasingly backing management teams of CEE e-commerce and software companies, and providing growth capital for CEE groups pursuing buy-and-build strategies inside and outside of the region. One thing to note is that the region has become even more attractive for strategic investors seeing the importance of manufacturing capacities within Europe, which translates into a highly competitive market especially in mid-market and large cap transactions.