Russian 2010 Inbound M&A Outlook: Caution Required

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While CMS Russia and a variety of investment banks are forecasting an improvement in Russia's 2010 M&A outlook, there is a variety of reasons to be cautious. In terms of inbound M&A, CMS Russia estimates that the number of transactions totalled 47 deals collectively valued at EUR3.4bn in 2009, compared to 89 deals worth EUR12.7bn in 2008. Looking ahead, a wave of privatised assets is likely to drive activity with the government recently announcing it would sell shares in 14 strategic and 435 non-strategic companies, raising a total of EUR1.7bn. But with these companies just as likely to be privatised