3. Wiener M&A Day mit Fokus Private Equity
17. June 2026
About 150 experts and decision-makers from the legal, business, and academic communities gathered on June 16 at the 3rd Vienna M&A Day at the Haus der Industrie. Over the past few years, this exclusive event has established itself as a central platform for the Austrian M&A community. This year’s event focused on the topic of private equity.
Through a series of expert presentations and panel discussions featuring high-profile speakers, numerous current developments and legal issues surrounding private equity were examined. Topics of focus included the growing influence of private credit, buy-and-build strategies, collaboration with family-owned businesses, infrastructure investments, artificial intelligence, exit strategies, and Europe’s role in the global financial market.
“We are pleased to have welcomed around 150 participants to this year’s Vienna M&A Day, including renowned national and international experts from leading investment firms, companies, and corporate law firms. The discussions have once again shown that private equity is becoming an increasingly attractive form of financing in Austria as well—particularly against the backdrop of rising capital requirements driven by digitalization and artificial intelligence, as well as numerous upcoming business succession plans,” said Rainer Kaspar, partner at PHH Rechtsanwält:innen and co-initiator of Vienna M&A Day.
Insights into Current Developments in the Private Equity Market
The event was opened by Tibor Kossa of Goldman Sachs and Florian Kusznier of Wolf Theiss. In their opening remarks, they provided an overview of current developments in the international M&A market and analyzed the latest transaction trends.
“So far, this year is shaping up to be the second-strongest year for M&A ever. While smaller transactions have recently declined somewhat, the number of deals with a volume of more than 10 billion U.S. dollars reached a record high. This underscores the high level of liquidity and strong investor interest in the market,” said Tibor Kossa of Goldman Sachs.
This was followed by a keynote address by Matteo Thun, a partner at EQT. He spoke about Europe’s appeal as an investment destination and how private equity can contribute to the long-term value creation and sustainability of companies through innovation and technology.
“From an international perspective, Europe’s strengths are often viewed more positively than they are within Europe itself. The key is to make companies ready for the future—through innovation, technology, and long-term investments in growth. We see this as a major opportunity for Europe,” emphasized Matteo Thun, a partner at EQT.
The challenges and opportunities of investing in infrastructure and future technologies were also on the agenda at Vienna M&A Day. Moderated by Sarah Wared of Wolf Theiss, international experts discussed Europe’s competitiveness in the global race for innovation and the prerequisites for successful investments in strategic future sectors.
“While Google, Anthropic, and other tech companies are investing billions in AI infrastructure and the U.S. is imposing export restrictions, Europe’s lag is becoming increasingly apparent. A lack of capacity, lengthy approval processes, and high barriers to innovation pose major challenges for the region,” emphasized Sarah Wared, a partner at Wolf Theiss.
Martin Suter, a partner at Rothschild & Co., discussed the outlook for the exit market. In his keynote address, he examined the current conditions for private equity transactions and focused in particular on the growing importance of alternative exit strategies.
“The environment for private equity transactions has changed. Processes are taking longer, and thorough due diligence is becoming increasingly important. At the same time, given the large asset base in Europe and increasing pressure to generate distributions, we expect an active transaction environment in which strategic exits and alternative monetization options will become more relevant,” said Martin Suter, a partner at Rothschild & Co.
Exchange and Networking within the M&A Community
In addition to the technical discussions, guests at the Vienna M&A Day took advantage of the numerous opportunities for personal networking. Representatives from private equity, investment banking, legal services, corporate finance, and the corporate sector discussed current market developments, shared experiences, and made new connections. In doing so, the Vienna M&A Day once again underscored its importance as a meeting place for the Austrian M&A community.
The Vienna M&A Day is organized and professionally coordinated by experienced M&A experts: In addition to Rainer Kaspar (PHH Rechtsanwält:innen), the event features Horst Ebhardt (Kinstellar), Konrad Gröller (Freshfields), Christian Herbst(Schönherr), Tibor Kossa (Co-Head of Investment Banking for Germany & Austria, Goldman Sachs), Florian Kusznier (Wolf Theiss), Roman Rericha (Brandl Talos), and Anton Ulmer (Country Head for Austria, Rothschild & Co) are members of the steering committee. Renowned national and international experts from leading law firms, investment firms, and companies have been invited to participate in the panel discussions.