According to the Portuguese newspaper Jornal Económico, many financial and legal advisors considered the year 2018 as a ‘boom’ for the Portuguese transactions market. Many companies chose to grow by means of acquisitions, which resulted in over 300 businesses being registered in the country. From that total, 158 corresponded to 22.6 billion euros, a 70% increase when compared to the same period of 2017. In 2019, low interest rates should continue to boost the Portuguese merger and acquisitions (M&A) market: energy, real estate and infrastructures should be among the most dynamic sectors this year.
The Portuguese economy is undergoing a deceleration trend, in line with its European peers. However, the experts interviewed by the newspaper believe the Portuguese M&A market should have the right conditions not only to keep the dynamic momentum, but also to be able to positively surprise market participants in 2019. The maintenance of low interest rates and the quality of some assets that may be placed on the market sustain this expectation.
Although the M&A operations and financial advisory market has tended to become smaller and more specialized during 2018, to provide tailor-made services, Haitong was able to assure the third place among the best financial advisors in terms of volume of transactions, with four operations. Furthermore, it is the only investment Bank to be represented in the podium.
