BDO Horizons 2026 - Issue 2

Global view

As we move through 2026, the dealmaking landscape continues to evolve at pace. Economic uncertainty, geopolitical shifts, technological disruption and changing investor priorities are creating both challenges and opportunities for businesses around the world.

In this second issue of BDO Horizons, we explore the trends shaping today’s M&A Advisory environment: market activity, emerging opportunities, sector developments and the factors influencing investor confidence across key regions.

Global mid-market M&A defies geopolitical turbulence as deal activity holds firm

Read the global view and download the full report.

Read the article →

Central and Eastern Europe

Mid-market dealmaking picked up, but the forward pipeline has narrowed

CEE recorded its second-highest half-year deal volume in the past four years in H1 2026, even as geopolitical uncertainty weighed on prospective activity.

Completed deal volume was 18% higher than in H2 2025, although still 9% below H1 2025. Industrials & Chemicals remained the region’s most active sector, while Energy, Mining & Utilities saw a notable increase in transactions. The data points to an active but increasingly selective mid-market.

199completed CEE deals in H1 2026

USD 78maverage deal size, broadly in line with the last two years

14.6%private equity share of overall deal volume

274deals planned or in progress — down from 403 identified for H1 2026

The top 20 CEE transactions accounted for 43% of total regional deal value. Half involved a domestic buyer, accounting for 51% of the top-20 value.

Deal pipeline

Expected transaction movement

Rebuilt as an accessible HTML chart from the region-by-region values shown in the original experience.

Movement refers to expected transactions compared with the previous half-year period.

BDO Deal Advisory

Our deals

Explore BDO’s global transaction experience and the work of our Deal Advisory teams.

BDO’s global view of mid-market deal activity