EY: Activity increased, yet the value of the Hungarian M&A market decreased significantly

In 2025, 135 corporate mergers and acquisitions were announced in Hungary, which is more than the 110 transactions of the previous year. However, the increase in volume was not accompanied by an increase in value. The primary reason for this is that larger acquisitions almost completely disappeared last year, so the total value of the domestic M&A market is estimated to have fallen by nearly seventy percent compared to 2024.

“While globally, high-value, so-called megadeals were dominant, in our country there were practically no significant acquisitions last year, such as the state acquisition of Budapest Airport in 2024,” emphasized Márton Paulovits, M&A Director at EY-Parthenon. “Therefore, the increase in the number of transactions reflects a more restrained, cautious investor sentiment.”

In 2025, nearly two-thirds of the announced deals were domestic transactions. Although this shows the increasing activity of domestic investors, it is also important to note that mainly medium-sized agreements dominated. The activity of foreign investors remained moderate, and the foreign expansion of Hungarian companies was also restrained.

– emphasized Dr. Iván Sefer, head of EY-Parthenon. “A sustainable recovery can be fundamentally supported by a favorable financing environment and stable investor confidence.”

In 2025, the most active strategic buyer was 4iG Plc. with 10 transactions, while Talentis Group and MOL Plc. shared second place on the imaginary podium, both with four announced acquisitions each.

The three highest value disclosed deals in 2025 were the acquisition of Semilab International Zrt.’s materials testing business (buyer: Onto Innovation Inc.; value: $564.9 million), LG Chem Ltd.’s acquisition of the remaining 50 percent stake in LG Toray Hungary Battery Separator Kft. (value: $325 million), and the acquisition of Iberdrola Renovables Magyarország Kft. (buyers: Premier Energy Corp and iG TECH Capital). Ltd.; value: over $200 million).

In 2025, the manufacturing industry was the most active sector with twenty-two acquisitions. The services sector came in second with nineteen deals, ahead of the IT sector, which saw fifteen transactions. Ten deals were signed in retail and seven in the food industry.