SLOVENIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Bojan Šporar and Jože Stare, Rojs, Peljhan, Prelesnik & partners
Introduction Slovenia’s mergers and acquisitions market has expe - rienced dynamic activity over the past five years, dem - onstrating notable resilience despite successive glob - al shocks. Following a pandemic-induced slowdown in 2020, deal-making rebounded strongly in 2021 and remained robust throughout 2022, supported by abundant liquidity, low interest rates and strong inves - tor confidence. Although 2023 and 2024 saw a mod - eration in activity due to inflationary pressures, rising interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty, the market remained active, with several landmark transactions completed across key sectors. By 2025, improving financing conditions, easing infla - tion and renewed investor confidence contributed to a gradual reacceleration of M&A activity. Both domestic and cross-border transactions continued to shape the Slovenian M&A landscape, with a growing number of outbound investments by Slovenian corporates com - plementing sustained inbound interest from interna - tional strategic as well as financial investors. The broader European environment has also become more supportive. As inflationary pressures have sub - sided and central banks have begun to loosen mon - etary policy, financing conditions have improved, sup - porting both sponsor-led and strategic transactions. While private equity activity has rebounded, there has been a continued emphasis on strategic consolida - tion, operational synergies and sector transforma - tion. Slovenia has broadly mirrored these trends, with steady deal flow, increasing sophistication in deal structuring and a notable shift towards more complex, multi-jurisdictional transactions. Key Transactions Multiple high-profile deals and strategic investments have shaped Slovenia’s M&A landscape in recent years. The market has seen consolidation in the bank - ing sector, pivotal moves in energy and infrastructure, as well as acquisitions across manufacturing, tech - nology and retail. These transactions have not only reshaped individual industries but have also contrib - uted to the broader internationalisation of the Slove- nian economy.
Following a wave of large strategic corporate acqui - sitions between 2020 and 2024, transaction activity in 2025 has been characterised by a combination of inbound strategic investments and increasingly ambi - tious outbound deals by Slovenian corporates. This dual dynamic reflects both the continued attractive - ness of Slovenia as an investment destination and the growing confidence of Slovenian companies in pursu - ing cross-border expansion strategies. A standout example is Advance Capital Partners’ acquisition of a majority stake in Mass, which in turn agreed to acquire Leder & Schuh, owner of the Human - ic and Shoe4You brands. The transaction, expected to close in 2026, will create one of the largest footwear retail groups in Europe. It also exemplifies the increas - ingly common combination of private equity backing and strategic expansion, whereby financial sponsors support the creation of regional champions through targeted acquisitions. In parallel, Perutnina Ptuj’s acquisition of Grupo Uvesa represents a significant outbound investment, creat - ing a strong regional player in the poultry market. The year 2025 has also been marked by significant private equity activity. Advance Capital Partners com - pleted multiple transactions, including the acquisi - tions of Unitur, one of Slovenia’s largest tourism com - panies, and Mikrocop, a market leader in business digitalisation and cloud-based services. Prva Capital Partners entered the market with its first investment in Cookinox, a manufacturer of premium stainless steel kitchen equipment, signalling the continued emer - gence of new domestic investment platforms. At the same time, Alfi exited from its investments in Trival Antene and Baby Center, with aggregate deal values exceeding EUR50 million. These exits dem - onstrate the increasing maturity of Slovenia’s private equity ecosystem and its ability to generate attractive returns through strategic sales to international buyers. Notable strategic transactions included the sale of Metronik, a leading provider of automation and digi - talisation solutions, to SKAN AG; the acquisition of the HCG group, a global player in the nutraceutical industry, by ANJAC Health & Beauty; and easyJet’s
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