In the context of an intensification of the exit activity, the global executives, as well as those in Romania, recognize that obtaining the expected gains from the disposals of assets carried out was a challenge, according to the EY 2021 Global Corporate Divestment study.

About 75% of Romanian respondents stated that they failed to obtain the expected price in the most recent asset transfer, a situation very similar to the global trend (79% of respondents globally). At the same time, 70% of Romanian executives said that deficiencies in strategic and portfolio analysis affected the expected results of asset disposals, a lower percentage than the global one (77% of the total number of respondents worldwide). In addition, according to the responses of 55% of local respondents, the latest divestment did not generate the expected impact on the remaining valuation multiples of the company, a percentage very close to the global one (56%).

This edition of the EY Global Divestment Study, which surveyed the opinions of over 1,000 executives, including from Romania, showed that a record percentage of companies (78%) in the nine-year history of the study keep units of business which, although at one time an essential element in the portfolio, now consumes unnecessarily resources and capital that could have a better allocation. In Romania, 75% of the executives included in the study confirm that they kept some assets in their portfolio for too long, although they should have sold them.

Despite these challenges and in the context in which companies face difficult decisions regarding the allocation of capital, the majority of respondents (67% in Romania and 76% globally) estimate an acceleration of their divestment plans as a result of the pandemic. 85% of Romanian respondents intend to initiate the next divestment or transfer of assets in the next two years, well over the percentage of 56% of respondents globally.