GREECE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stefanos Charaktiniotis, Danai Falconaki, Stathis Orfanoudakis and Nadia Axioti, Zepos & Yannopoulos
Introduction Following a slowdown in M&A activity during 2023 driven by global economic challenges, high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty, the Greek M&A market showed signs of significant recovery and development in 2024, with a con - fident rise in deal pace in terms of the volume of transactions and the total value of completed deals. In line with efforts of global players, dur - ing the past 12 months, deal makers in Greece have been actively in pursuit of augmenting M&A activity, while the Greek state continues to enact legislation and put incentives in place to further attract the interest of both foreign and domestic investors in the country’s business landscape. In terms of highlight industries, sectors which are traditionally considered as Greece’s “crown jewels” from an M&A standpoint saw a notable rise during last year; however, new emerging industries also played a key role in Greece’s increased activity. The predictions for the upcoming year remain optimistic, and a continuing rise in deal volume and value is expected. Sectors such as energy, TMT, hospitality and tourism are likely to lead the deal flow pace for yet another year, but it remains to be seen whether the recent trends in terms of M&A activity in the education and financial services sectors will follow the same pace in 2025. Technology and Innovation Technology is disrupting almost every economic sector and reshaping the overall business land - scape as we know it. In the same vein, inno - vation and technology are playing a vital role in the Greek market, including as a key driver M&A activity targeting technology companies. Established market players are on the lookout to invest in or acquire smaller tech companies to
gain a competitive advantage. At the same time, Greek start-ups have also attracted global inves - tor interest, with notable acquisitions such as the one of BETA CAE Systems by Cadence Design System (one of the few EUR1 billion-plus exits in Europe last year) illustrating how specialised tech solutions can unlock value by complement - ing existing technologies. The above trend is supported by the abundance of venture capital and private equity “dry pow- der” , as well as Greek state initiatives aimed at boosting innovation. The Hellenic Development Bank of Investments is also embracing its role as Greece’s sovereign fund of funds, by provid - ing the necessary funding and support for Greek start-ups to scale and reach global markets. However, technology is also affecting the ways in which deals are executed, with deal mak - ers scrutinising the technological skill set and compliance standards of potential targets. Due diligence workstreams are becoming more com - prehensive and are putting increased focus not only on the traditional legal, financial and tax aspects of businesses, but also on the techni - cal components thereof. Technical due diligence is thus expected to become an elemental part of most M&A transactions, including the assess - ment of targets’ ability to maintain productivity and security in remote working environments. Finally, the impact of AI is probably already on every deal maker’s radar. AI-based tools will hopefully expedite deal completion timelines, by offering technologically advanced solutions to assess business operations. Nevertheless, the risks associated with the use of AI may ultimately necessitate further due diligence, thus negating (some of) its perceived advantages. Effectively leveraging such tools will ultimately determine
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