About

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 forum carries the theme Bigger than the Baltics, reflecting the region’s growing ambition to look beyond local markets. It highlights the shift towards global M&A trends, rising outbound investment activity, and a new generation of founders and investors building companies with international reach rather than limiting their vision to the region.

The 2026 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 Central & South-Eastern Europe at Rothschild & Co, 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.

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
Include a focus on rising outbound acquisitions by Baltic companies, alongside recent landmark case studies

Mārtiņš Kezberis

Strategy Director at Rimi Baltic

Nerijus Drobavičius

Partner at INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund and INVL Private Equity Fund II

Valērija Lieģe

CFA, Partner at Oaklins Baltics & Oaklins Cyprus

Julijus Grigaliunas

Managing Partner at Porta Finance

Eva Berlaus

Managing Partner at Sorainen

Agenda

EET, UTC+2

9:00-10:00

Registration and morning coffee

10:00-10:10

Warm welcome: Let's get this ball rolling!

EVA BERLAUS, Managing Partner at Sorainen

10:10-10:25

Welcome address

ARVILS AŠERADENS, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Latvia

10:25-10:50

Keynote: Market outlook

STANISLAW SAWCZYN, Head of Central and South Eastern Europe at Rothschild & Co

What global M&A and private equity trends are shaping the global market today?
How are geopolitical and other emerging challenges influencing dealmaking worldwide?
How do these dynamics play out in the Baltics compared with the wider region?

10:50-11:30

Panel discussion: What to expect in 2026 and beyond in the transactional 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?

Panelists:

JULIUS GRIGALIŪNAS, Managing Partner at Porta Finance

VALĒRIJA LIEĢE, CFA, Partner at Oaklins Baltics & Oaklins Cyprus

HENRIK IGASTA, Managing Partner at Superia

STANISLAW SAWCZYN, Head of Central and South Eastern Europe at Rothschild & Co

11:30-12:00

COFFEE AND NETWORKING BREAK

12:00-12:40

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?

Panellists: TBA

12:40-13:00

Case study: The “Plum” of the biggest M&A deal in the Baltics: Global, corporate, and personal perspectives

MĀRTIŅŠ ĶEZBERIS, Strategy Director at Rimi Baltic Group

13:00-13:30

Generational succession: A growing driver of mid-market M&A

How is generational change reshaping mid-market M&A as family-owned businesses face succession pressures? What global patterns emerge from McKinsey’s research, and how do they compare with Baltic realities? And how can investors and advisers best support succession planning across the region as the next generation steps in?

MĀRTIŅŠ MELLENS, Private Equity and Principal Investing Practice at McKinsey & Company

Additional speaker TBA

13:30-14:30

LUNCH AND NETWORKING

14:30-14:45

Case study: Baltic Capital, Nordic Innovation: from partnership to exit – lessons from Danish MBL

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?

NERIJUS DROBAVIČIUS, Partner at INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund and INVL Private Equity Fund II

14:45-15:15

VCA panel: TBA

15:15-15:30

Case study by Livonia Partners: TBA

15:30-15:50

NETWORKING BREAK

15:50-16:20

Bigger than the Baltics: Outbound M&A in focus

Baltic companies are increasingly looking beyond their home markets, moving from being targets to becoming active acquirers abroad. What drives this shift, what lessons come from recent outbound deals, and what does this growing trend mean for regional dealmakers?

Speakers: TBA

16:20-16:40

Leadership and talent: The hidden drivers of M&A and PE success

A fireside chat on how leadership quality, team strength and human-centric decision‑making shape M&A and private equity outcomes – from deal execution to integration and value creation – illustrated through practical case insights.

TERJE EICHELMANN, Associate Partner at Amrop

Additional speaker TBA

16:40-17:00

An inspirational closing session TBA

17:00-17:05

Forum’s closing remarks

17:05-17:30

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.

18:00-20:00

Networking after‑event: Drinks & conversations

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Registration

Early Bird Access - Secure Your Seat at a Special Rate!

Register early and benefit from exclusive Early Bird pricing by using the code SORAINEN26.
This offer is available for a limited time only — until 23 February 2026.

For one person: EUR 345 + VAT
For three and more participants from the same Company: EUR 300 + VAT

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Contacts

PROGRAMME & SPEAKERS

Kristiine Rebane

Sorainen

+372 6 400 900

kristiine.rebane@sorainen.com

SPONSORSHIPS & EVENT ORGANIZATION

Santa Butāne

Dienas Bizness

+371 26132470

santa.butane@db.lv