CYPRUS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Christina Ioannidou, Zoe Christou and Niovie Constantinou, Ioannides Demetriou LLC
Ioannides Demetriou LLC The City House 17-19 Themistokli Dervi Street 1066 Nicosia Cyprus
Tel: +357 22 022 999 Fax: +357 22 022 900 Email: info@idlaw.com.cy Web: www.idlaw.com.cy
Introduction Cyprus’s M&A market in 2025 was defined by con - solidation in regulated sectors and renewed inbound investor interest across selected sectors. In fact, 2025 marked one of the most active and transforma - tive periods for the Cyprus mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in recent years. Despite global econom - ic uncertainty and persistent geopolitical pressures, Cyprus demonstrated remarkable resilience and sus - tained transactional momentum. This performance has been supported by strong structural fundamen - tals, including a stable and business-friendly regu - latory framework, EU membership, an established common law legal system, an extensive double tax treaty network and continued inflows of foreign direct investment. Combined with a highly skilled profes - sional services sector and Cyprus’s geographic loca - tion and role as a natural gateway between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, these factors have rein - forced the island’s attractiveness as a jurisdiction for both domestic and cross-border M&A activity across a broad range of sectors. These favourable conditions translated into grow - ing M&A activity, particularly in the financial services sector. The banking industry experienced substan - tial consolidation as institutions sought economies of scale, enhanced digital capabilities and stronger capital positions to meet evolving regulatory require - ments. Insurance followed a similar path, with major market participants combining forces to strengthen market presence and operational resilience. These transactions mark a milestone for the wider economy by creating stronger financial institutions with great - er capacity to support household lending, business
growth and larger-scale investment. For consumers, this translates into increased financial stability and improved access to modern banking and insurance services, while at a macro level it underpins sustain - able economic growth. Beyond finance, the retail sector underwent notable change. Greek investors led selected acquisitions, seeking to expand footprint and modernise supply chain infrastructure. At the same time, healthcare activity continued its momentum, reflecting the impact of the General Health System (GESY), with providers pursuing scale and expanding into specialist services. Hospitality attracted sustained international invest - ment, particularly from institutional investors seeking premium assets. Cyprus’s comprehensive regulatory framework, over - seen by authorities including the Commission for the Protection of Competition, Central Bank of Cyprus and Superintendent of Insurance, provided the cer - tainty necessary for the smooth and timely completion The banking sector emerged as the dominant driver of M&A activity in Cyprus in 2025, marked by a wave of transactions that significantly reshaped the com - petitive landscape. The acquisition of Hellenic Bank by Eurobank SA, followed by the merger of Eurobank Cyprus and Hellenic Bank into Eurobank Limited, marked a historic milestone as the largest transac - tion in the history of the country (around EUR1.3 bil - lion), resulting in the creation of the largest banking of such complex transactions. Sectoral Trends in Cyprus M&A Banking and financial services
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