TALLINN – The Baltic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market remains active despite geopolitical and economic headwinds, with the technology sector reclaiming its role as the region's primary driver of deals, a new study showed on Wednesday.
According to the newly released "Baltic Private M&A Deal Points Study 2026," information technology and telecommunications emerged as the most active sector, accounting for 15% of all transactions completed between April 2024 and March 2026. The industrial and construction sectors followed, each capturing 12% of the market volume.
The tech sector's resilient M&A performance offers founders, operators, and investors market liquidity.
"One of the most notable changes shown in this study is the growing sale of stakes among founders and family business owners," said Toomas Prangli, partner and head of M&A at law firm Sorainen. "We also see that strategic buyers remain very active, and larger deals have returned to the market."
While nearly 60% of transaction values remained under the €10 million threshold, the market experienced a proportional increase in larger transactions, specifically those valued between €50 million and €100 million, as well as mega-deals for the region, exceeding €100 million. Strategic investors dominated the landscape, expanding their overall share to 73%.
Conversely, the energy and utilities sector, which previously drove market activity, saw its share plummet from 23% to 11%. The report suggests this sharp decline reflects mounting political and regulatory uncertainty regarding the sector's future.
Regionally, Estonian buyers were the most active during the study period, accounting for 23% of the transactions, followed by Lithuanian (18%) and Latvian (16%) investors. Outside the Baltics, Swedish and British capital showed the highest interest in regional assets.
The maturing market has brought increased procedural complexity and longer timelines.
Prangli cautioned that transaction completion times have stretched, now averaging six to twelve months. Over the past two years, deal terms have increasingly favoured buyer protections, with specific indemnities and guarantees routinely required to ensure sellers meet their obligations.
Furthermore, a growing portion of deals now requires prior regulatory approval as states continue to expand the scope of foreign direct investment (FDI) controls. Despite these complexities, cash remains the dominant currency, utilised in 90% of all completed transactions.
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