The M&A market in 2020 has been significantly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the latest quarterly M&A overview prepared by CzechInvest, the leading agency supporting business and investments in the Czech Republic, “in a very short period of time and on a large scale, many companies have had to close down or limit their operations, dismiss stuff members, and disrupt supply chains.” Although there has been some recovery since May, the situation remains unpredictable. The second and next presumed waves will likely bring even more uncertainty.

M&A practitioners, fund managers and CEOs are living a 2020 that is rich in experiences. Of course, we all hoped this to be the best year since the 2008 crisis.

The time is gone forever when our lawyers would sit down in a physical data room to dig through tons of documents provided by the target’s head of legal or corporate secretary. We will miss the personal contact, but it’s fair to say that the due diligence process has become more streamlined and efficient in Moldova, making it possible to shrink the timing of M&As and close deals in weeks rather than months.

The main sources of Corporate Governance in the Republic of Serbia are the Law on Companies and the Law on Capital Market.

Halfway through 2019 Ukraine has already seen major changes in its energy sector’s legal framework, including the effect of the recent decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine involving the legal status and decision-making authority of the Ukrainian energy market regulator (the “Regulator”). The shockwaves are likely to go far beyond 2019.

After undergoing healthy levels of Corporate/M&A activity in recent times, as we move towards 2019 we expect the Slovak market to remain stable. A notable exception, however, is in the logistics asset class, where we project inbound investment to soar.