bne_newspaper_January_26_2018

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Content:
2 Top Stories
5 The Regions This Week 9 Chart
10 Central Europe 12 Southeast Europe 15 Eastern Europe 18 Eurasia
21 Opinion
23 Lists24 Lists
January 26, 2018 www.intellinews.com
Tight finish expected in Czech presidential election
Robert Anderson in Prague
Czech President Milos Zeman goes into the elec- tion run-off on January 26-27 as the bookies’ favourite, though final polls show his challenger, chemistry professor Jiri Drahos, as slightly ahead.
Zeman won the first round of the elections on January 12-13 by 38.6% to 28.6%, but after most
M&A in Emerging Europe fell 17%
in 2017 to €71.5bn
bne IntelliNews
Merger and acquisition deals in Emerging Europe fell by 17% to €71.5bn in 2017, with China becom- ing the largest external player for the first time, according to the annual survey by CMS and EMIS.
The report pointed to a pick-up of confidence in the second half of last year and predicts a strong 2018
Jiri Drahos (right) performed better in the second of the two television duels, though President Milos Zeman made his experience count.
of the eliminated candidates backed Drahos, polls now show the academic winning by up to four percentage points.
Despite the president’s largely ceremonial role,
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Law firm CMS once again claimed top spot for the number of deals it advised on, with 57 transactions.
for dealmaking. “We are already witnessing
a healthy pipeline of activity at the start of 2018 with all signs pointing to another good year for M&A in the region,” said CMS partner Radivoje Petrikivic.
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