CMS launched last week its 10th edition of annual European M&A Outlook -- published each year in association with Mergermarket and offering a comprehensive assessment of dealmaking sentiment across Europe’s M&A market, the report is based on interviews with hundreds of corporates and private equity firms based in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific about their expectations for the European M&A market in the year ahead. Headline news download and a short video with highlights of the study can be found here! As always, there is lots of content that can be of interest – from what expectations are for the European M&A landscape in the next months/ year and what is likely to drive activity, to ESG rising up the M&A agenda. 

In the area of financial health, the Czech Republic ranked 13th in the EU comparison. Despite the fact that Czechs save on average about a fifth of their wages, over 60% of low-income households in our country have no financial reserves.The high energy costs, which rank us 3rd worst in the EU, are also a barrier to a better ranking. Moreover, the energy and inflation crisis is worsening the situation. This is according to the eighth pillar of the Czech Prosperity Index, which analyses 10 socio-economic indicators comparing the Czech Republic with other EU members.

Citi celebrated 30 years of doing business in Czechia last week. The bank was the first stop on the drive down Evropa from Letiste Airport for many investors, and finances many of the deals that transform the economy today, and will play a big role in reconstructing ukraine and building an integrated European market. We are glad to have their local and regional leader, Munir Nanji, sitting on our board.  

The European Commission has made a point of finding a way to direct its financial resources on achieving a sustainable and competitive EU economy. For this purpose, it has decided to set the rules for disclosure of transparent information on sustainability for individual measures and sectors. The entire financial sector, banks, market participants and other institutions, and namely authorities responsible for the functioning and control of the financial market have to react to this development.