Private equity investors in Central Europe maintain their confidence in the region's outlook, despite the difficult context, and the confidence index remains stable, pointing to continued optimism in the coming months, according to the latest edition of the Deloitte Central Europe Private Equity Confidence Survey. More than a third of respondents (36%) expect an increase in transactional activity, while 56% expect it to remain at the current level and only 8% anticipate a reduction.
The economic backdrop is perceived as stable by the majority of the participants in the study, with 74% not expecting changes, 18% expecting conditions to improve, and 8% predicting a deterioration. The results indicate the resilience of the regional market, especially as they were recorded amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the disruptions generated in the Strait of Hormuz, which continue to influence the global economy and the degree of investor optimism.
Expectations around financing also points to stability, with more than two-thirds of respondents (70%) expecting the current level of liquidity to be maintained, while a fifth expect access to finance to improve in the rest of the year and only a tenth anticipate a contraction.
"The private equity industry in Central Europe has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to adapt, and the experience gained over more than three decades of developing companies in different economic contexts has contributed to creating an increasingly resilient and internationally connected market. Romania follows this regional trend and is becoming an increasingly relevant destination for long-term invested capital. In 2025, the value of private equity and venture capital investments made in the local market increased more than fourfold compared to the previous year, to 433.6 million euros, and the value of exits reached a record level of 662.4 million euros. These developments confirm both investors' interest in Romanian companies with growth potential, as well as the role of private capital in their development and internationalization," said Radu Dumitrescu, Advisory Partner-in-Charge, Deloitte Romania.
The study also analyses how artificial intelligence is used in the investment process. Although AI adoption is advancing in Central Europe, the technology remains insufficiently leveraged to identify future investment targets. Only 18% of respondents consider AI to be very useful in this process, 54% attribute moderate utility to it, and 28% consider it to provide limited support.
As AI adoption expands, investors who have passed the experimentation stage will begin to measure more rigorously the impact of the technology and the return on investments made in this area, the study shows.
The Deloitte Central Europe Private Equity Confidence Survey has mirrored the private equity market evolution since 2003, twice per year.
