The Road to Recovery: European M&A Outlook 2022 Dealmakers say PE best placed to flourish in the next 12 months A brighter outlook: 53% of respondents expect European M&A activity to increase over the next 12 months (compared to only 2% last year) Low valuations and distress: 24% see undervalued targets as the most important buy-side driver of M&A activity. 22% identify distressed-driven M&A as the most important catalyst for sell-side activity. Private equity in pole position: 71% agree that financial buyers are better placed than strategic buyers to take advantage of buying opportunities in the post-lockdown revival.  

Erste Social Finance Holding, a joint venture of Erste Group and ERSTE Foundation, recently launched “Quasi-equity”, an innovative social finance instrument. This new funding opportunity, which has received financial support from the European Union, helps social organisations grow and scale up their impact by strengthening their equity. Provided in the form of a so-called “qualified subordinated loan”, Quasi-equity is available to social enterprises, non-profit and non-governmental organisations in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, and Croatia.

Mid-tier businesses play a fundamental role in global supply chains, yet many of them are running on legacy systems and processes, facing long-term underinvestment in skills and technologies and have a very strong case for change that crystallised particularly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Neglecting their specific needs could cause considerable damage to economies in the medium term.  

The background of AMLA In light of the latest investigation developments around some well known money laundering cases and common challenges in enforcing AML regulation across the EU, the EU Commission has presented a new legislative package on fostering the need for harmonised and more detailed AML/CFT rules and regulations. This extensive package aims to cover the gaps in some areas in the AML field across the entire EU, in particular: