The Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum is a well-established annual industry event for transaction‑market professionals, bringing together private equity and venture capital funds, investment bankers, advisers, and company owners and executives. Each year, the forum attracts more than 250 participants and serves as a platform for building new connections, discovering opportunities and networking with peers.
This year’s programme will look at global and regional deal‑making trends and challenges with insights from leading Baltic PE funds; explore whether we should be defensive about defence M&A in the Baltics; outline investor opportunities arising from succession and generational transition; and include a focus on rising outbound acquisitions by Baltic companies, alongside recent landmark case studies.
The keynote address will be delivered by Stanisław Sawczyn, Head of the CEE region at Rothschild, who will discuss global M&A and private equity trends, key geopolitical impacts and their implications for the Baltic market.
We’ll meet at Hanzas Perons in Riga, a modern venue with historic character in the heart of the New Hanza district.
Please note that the forum language is English.
WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN US?
NETWORKING & NEW CONTACTS
The Baltic M&A and Private Equity Forum is a well-known meeting and networking platform for transaction market players and investors.
PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE
Learn about current investment opportunities, challenges, and what it takes to close a deal today.
AWARD CEREMONY AND AFTERPARTY
Let’s celebrate the deals of the year, as we hand over the annual Baltic M&A and Private Equity awards.
Don’t miss the opportunity to register your participation at the best price!
More about the event:
Santa Butāne
Dienas Bizness | project manager
+371 26132470| santa.butane@db.lv
8:30–9:30 | Registration and morning coffee
9:30–9:40 | Opening remarks: Let’s get this ball rolling!
EVA BERLAUS, Managing Partner at Sorainen
MĀRTIŅŠ BIČEVSKIS, Board Member & Mentor at Click & Grow, AM Craft and LatRailNet
9:40–9:55 | Welcome address
ARVILS AŠERADENS, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Latvia
9:55–10:25 | Keynote presentation: Dealmaking in CEE in 2026 – Resilience reimagined
STANISLAW SAWCZYN, Head of Central and South Eastern Europe at Rothschild & Co
The era of “wait-and-see” is over. How structural changes in manufacturing, AI, dual-use technologies, and regional strong and stable macro will impact M&A in 2026.
10:25–11:00 | Panel discussion: What to expect in 2026 and beyond in the transactionl market?
How are global M&A and private equity trends shifting in the current geopolitical and regulatory context? What do these developments mean for deal flow in the Baltics, and where do the key opportunities and challenges lie for the year ahead?
Moderator: STANISLAW SAWCZYN, Head of Central and South Eastern Europe at Rothschild & Co
Panellists:
11:00–11:30 | Coffee and networking break
11:30–12:10 | Panel discussion: Should we be defensive about defence M&A in the Baltics? Sell now or wait?
Geopolitical pressures and rising demand for defence technologies are reshaping the market. Is now the right moment for founders and investors to exit, or does scaling further offer greater long-term value?
Moderator: LAIMONAS SKIBARKA, Partner at Sorainen
Panellists:
12:10–12:30 | Case study: The “Plum” of the biggest M&A deal in the Baltics: global, corporate, and personal perspective
MĀRTIŅŠ ĶEZBERIS, Strategy Director at Rimi Baltic Group
A retrospective look at the RIMI Baltic transaction – one of the largest deals in the Baltics – through three perspectives: the global view of the buyer and seller, the organisational impact on RIMI, and the experience of being inside the company as a leader and employee, concluding with a brief look at what comes next.
12:30–12:50 | Generational succession: A growing driver of mid-market M&A
MĀRTIŅŠ MELLĒNS, Private Equity and Principal Investing Practice, McKinsey
Europe’s SME ownership landscape is at an inflexion point. Across industry verticals, a structural wave of founder exits – largely absent of in-family succession – is creating compelling deal flow across Western Europe and, for the first time, the trend has reached the Baltics. As the post-Soviet entrepreneurial class of the 90s reaches retirement, local PE is uniquely positioned to deploy bespoke capital solutions at scale
12:50–14:00 | Networking lunch
14:00–14:15 | Case study: Baltic Capital, Nordic Innovation: from partnership to exit – lessons from Danish MBL
NERIJUS DROBAVIČIUS, Partner at INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund and INVL Private Equity Fund II
In 2025, INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund exited the Danish MBL Group after five years of partnership that drove the company’s modernisation and international expansion. What lessons can be learned from how active collaboration creates value and positions a business for a successful exit to a global investor?
14:15–14:45 | Panel discussion: Where Does the Next Return Come From? Institutional Investors and AIFs in the Baltics
Moderator: ERNESTS BORDĀNS, Partner at Livonia Partners
Panellists:
14:45–15:00 | Case study: Wildix – building and scaling a global tech company from the Baltics
JASON USLAN, CCO of Wildix
How did the Livonia Partners-backed Wildix, quietly built from the Baltics, become the only European UCaaS software in Gartner Magic Quadrant with over one million users, operating fully remote organization, across dozens of global markets? Jason Uslan shares the story: the go-to-market model that makes it possible, how an investor helps to shape the company’s strategy, management, and global grow.
15:00–15:20 | Networking break
15:20–15:55 | Panel discussion: Bigger than the Baltics: Outbound growth in action
Baltic companies are increasingly looking beyond their home markets, moving from being targets to becoming active acquirers abroad. This session brings together two notable outbound expansion examples from across the Baltics to explore key drivers, lessons learned, and the impact of this trend on regional dealmaking.
Moderator: MIKE SOUTHON, Chief Editor at StartupMafia
Panellists:
15:55–16:15 | Fireside chat: Beyond the deal: Leadership and culture as strategic assets in M&A
Successful M&A and private equity outcomes depend on more than strategy and capital. This fireside chat examines how leadership, culture and talent decisions drive value creation from due diligence through integration and long‑term growth, and how they can become a strategic advantage as companies scale beyond their home markets.
Participants:
16:15–16:50 | Closing session: Inspiration beyond business: The Path To The Peaks
RIHARDS ZAĻUPE, Latvian composer, producer, and percussionist, co-author of the Academy Award-winning film Flow
16:50–16:55 | Forum’s closing remarks
16:55–17:25 | Baltic M&A and Private Equity Awards Ceremony
Celebrating last year’s milestone transactions, where the most significant deals in the Baltics – selected by an independent pan-Baltic committee – will be announced
17:30 | Networking after-event