The M&A Awards Belgium jury has selected the 18 deals competing for a “best in” title across six categories this year.
After an in-depth review process of the 90 deals that made the dossiers, the judges have chosen their top three candidates for each M&A Awards Belgium 2026 award category and will reconvene on 21 October to choose the winners from this shortlist.
The results will be announced during the gala dinner on 26 November.
Join us on the evening to celebrate all the nominees:
88% of the tables have already been sold.
Best Large Cap Corporate Deal
BNP Paribas Cardif increases its minority interest in Ageas
This €1.1 billion investment increased Cardif’s minority stake in Ageas to approximately 22.5%, strengthening their strategic partnership and positioning Ageas to acquire full ownership of AG Insurance.
Advisers: Cleary Gottlieb, BNP Paribas; Argo Law and Morgan Stanley.
Martin Marietta acquires Lhoist North America from Lhoist Group
One of the largest deals ever involving a local company. This $13.5 billion cash-and-share transaction combines Lhoist’s North American lime and mineral operations with Martin Marietta’s materials platform, giving the Belgian family a significant 15% shareholding in the enlarged business.
This lets the family monetise decades of work while staying exposed to the upside, an increasingly popular trend in post-M&A integration. It also reflects the premium buyers will pay for hard-to-replicate assets.
Advisers: Goldman Sachs; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Bredin Prat; BNP Paribas; J.P. Morgan; Rothschild & Co; Latham & Watkins; PwC, PwC Société d’Avocats; Davis Polk & Wardwell, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson.
Aedifica acquires and absorbs Cofinimmo through an all-share combination
The combination of Aedifica and Cofinimmo brought together Europe’s two listed healthcare-property champions to create the country’s number-one REIT in the sector and the fourth-largest globally, with approximately €12.1 billion in property assets across nine countries.
This deal reflects how Belgium’s listed real estate industry is consolidating by specialism while valuations are dislocated, with scale buying liquidity, index weight and a lower cost of capital.
Advisers: BNP Paribas Fortis; J.P. Morgan; Stibbe; Goldman Sachs; Lazard; A&O Shearman.
Best Mid Cap Corporate Deal
SNF acquires Syensqo’s Oil & Gas business
This €135 million global carve-out adds complementary oilfield chemicals and customer relationships to SNF’s polymers business while supporting Syensqo’s strategic portfolio focus.
The deal is also indicative of Europe’s chemical groups pruning their portfolios and buyers paying for operational readiness, not just assets.
Advisers: BNP Paribas; Hogan Lovells; Lydian; Deloitte; Bank of America Securities; Jones Day.
Easyfairs acquires Xpo Group
Easyfairs, backed by Cobepa, Inflexion and founder Eric Everard, acquired Xpo Group through a voluntary public offer to approximately 180 shareholders, adding Kortrijk Xpo and 61 specialist events across 17 European countries to its international events business.
Advisers: Eight Advisory; PwC; Plural Strategy; A&O Shearman; Kumulus Partners; Eubelius; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Dynamate and VanRoey merge
Dynamate and VanRoey combined under a new holding structure to create an integrated Belgian IT services group, continuing under the Dynamate name. With more than €140 million combined revenue and over 450 employees, the group gains scale while continuing to receive support from the founding families, management, Sofindev and Fortino Capital.
The merger brings together complementary regional coverage and expertise in infrastructure, managed services, cybersecurity, business applications and digital solutions – important drivers behind many deals lately.
Advisers: Kumulus Partners; Stibbe; LDS Advisory; Argo; BDO; EY; BrightWolves; Fieldfisher; KooKoo Strategies.
Best Large Cap Private Equity Exit
3i Infrastructure exits TCR International
Global Infrastructure Partners (part of BlackRock) acquired Brussels-headquartered TCR, the airport ground-support equipment lessor, from 3i Infrastructure and co-investors. The acquisition gives TCR a new partner for international growth, generating a 3.5x money multiple and a 19% gross annual IRR for 3i.
It also demonstrates infrastructure capital’s appetite for asset-heavy service businesses, and the depth of the secondary market between infrastructure investors.
Advisers: Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Travers Smith; Deutsche Bank; Clifford Chance; Crédit Agricole CIB; Skylark Consulting Group.
IK Partners exits Innovad Group
APAI Partners acquired IK IX Fund’s stake in Innovad Group, the Antwerp-based supplier of speciality animal nutrition and health additives, to support further product development, international growth and acquisitions. CEO Ben Letor and management reinvested, joining a growing PE trend that preserves the entrepreneurship and culture that comes with a target.
Advisers: Ropes & Gray; A&O Shearman; Baker McKenzie; PwC; KPMG; LBO Managers
Dovesco, Imker Capital and Insight Partners exit Lansweeper
Bridgepoint acquired a majority stake in Lansweeper – alongside its founder and management – from Dovesco, Imker Capital, and Insight Partners. From a freeware IT tool in Merelbeke to a global Cyber Asset Intelligence reference, this exit is a prime example of a Belgian technology icon at the top of its game and one of Europe’s most impressive software value-creation stories.
Advisers: EY / EY-Parthenon; ING Belgium; J.P. Morgan; Rothschild & Co; Clifford Chance; William Blair; A&O Shearman.
Best Mid Cap Private Equity Exit
Bencis Capital Partners exits Rubio Monocoat
After a successful holding period of over five years, Bencis sold its stake in Rubio Monocat to Apheon. The transaction supports the Belgian wood-protection specialist’s international growth and product innovation, while the founding Muylle family and management remain shareholders. It also shows the premium sponsors pay for niche brands with proprietary technology and a sustainability angle.
The business remains anchored in Izegem, preserving local know-how while employees and management gain a partner for the next growth phase.
Advisers: Kumulus Partners; A&O Shearman; Eight Advisory; Nielen Schuman; Rothschild & Co; PwC; Stibbe.
Standard Investment exits AutoRepairGroup
Standard Investment and management sold AutoRepairGroup – Belgium’s independent multi-brand body-repair network – to Suvia Group, backed by Intera Partners. The sale follows AutoRepairGroup’s transformation after its carve-out from Carglass, connecting its 14 Belgian repair centres with Suvia’s Finnish network and establishing a platform for further European expansion.
Advisers: DNB Carnegie; Loyens & Loeff; KPMG; Bain & Company; Kumulus Partners; EY / EY-Parthenon; Roland Berger; Stibbe; Hannes Snellman
M80 exits Gerantis
M80 sold its stake in Belgian property-management and software group Gerantis to Strikwerda Investments, which subsequently became the new majority shareholder through DomiLinq. Under M80, Gerantis completed 20 acquisitions and developed the dobby software platform.
Advisers: Stibbe; Alvarez & Marsal; Cresco; Deloitte.
Best Venture Capital Deal - Technology
Vertical Compute extends its seed financing
The imec spin-off Vertical Compute secured €37 million in additional financing to advance memory technology for AI chips, bringing its total seed financing package to €57 million. Quantonation led the extension with new and returning investors signalling a growing appetite for components that ease AI’s data-movement bottleneck. The package also includes non-dilutive VLAIO and BPI France funding.
Advisers: Cresco.
Conveo raises a Series A funding round
Conveo, the Belgian-founded consumer-research software company, raised $50 million in Series A equity funding from DST Global Partners, Balderton, Visionaries, 6 Degrees Capital and Y Combinator. The capital supports its US expansion.
Advisers: Four & Five – part of Moore Law
Smartfin and Coformaco partially exit BrightAnalytics
PSG Equity acquired a majority stake in BrightAnalytics, the Belgian provider of Corporate Performance Management software. Smartfin and Coformaco reinvest a portion of their proceeds alongside the founders, who retain a significant minority stake and continue running the business. The partnership supports international expansion, broader product offerings and development of AI capabilities.
Advisers: FTI Consulting; GP Bullhound; Linklaters; Kumulus Partners; Deloitte, BAHR and A&O Shearman.
Venture Capital Life Sciences
Agomab Therapeutics completes its Nasdaq IPO
Agomab’s Nasdaq IPO brings a Belgian venture-backed biotechnology company to international public markets, secures substantial funding for the next phase of clinical development for fibrotic diseases and opens access to international public markets. The primary offering raised $200 million gross, suggesting that Europe’s strongest biotechs are still turning to Nasdaq for the depth of specialist capital they need in 2026.
Advisers: Goodwin, Clifford Chance; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Baker McKenzie, PwC Belgium. J.P. Morgan; Morgan Stanley; Leerink Partners; Van Lanschot Kempen.
Coultreon Biopharma raises Series A funding round
After Galapagos decided to discontinue small-molecule discovery, Coultreon carved out its immunology and oncology assets, connecting existing scientific work with the capital and dedicated organisation needed to continue development. Now, the Leuven-based biotech raised $125 million in Series A financing to advance its investigational oral SIK3 inhibitor.
Advisers: Eubelius
Gimv exits ImCheck Therapeutics
Ipsen acquired all shares in France-based ImCheck Therapeutics, providing an exit for Belgian investor Gimv and its co-investors while Ipsen gains ICTO1 and ImCheck’s antibody pipeline. The acquisition includes €350 million in upfront consideration on a cash-free, debt-free basis, with regulatory and sales milestones that could increase the total to €1 billion.
Advisers: A&O Shearman; Centerview Partners; Goodwin; Dentons; Deloitte
Sarah Muller, one of the doctoral researchers on Vlerick’s Centre for Mergers, Acquisitions & Buyouts team that filtered the initial submissions, says these two categories are particularly exciting because they showcase the many innovative startups emerging in Belgium and attracting venture capital investment:
“It reflects the country’s entrepreneurial spirit and the strength of its startup ecosystem.”
More broadly, she notes the nominated deals offer an interesting view of the diversity in Belgian dealmaking – “from established businesses pursuing strategic acquisitions to young companies developing innovative solutions and attracting investors to support their growth”.
Making the cut for the M&A Awards
Vlerick Business School professor of corporate finance Mathieu Luypaert explains that, every year, the Centre for Mergers, Acquisitions & Buyouts team (which he is also part of) screens around 1,000 deals across multiple databases to determine their eligibility for the M&A Awards, but only a subset meets the criteria set out in the M&A Awards regulations.
“The first and most straightforward reason a transaction does not proceed is that it falls outside the scope of the relevant categories or does not meet the applicable eligibility criteria,” he points out. “Another important challenge is the absence of a disclosed deal value or other relevant financial information for potentially eligible transactions.”
Mathieu stresses that advisers must submit nomination files as thoroughly as possible, ensuring each deal can be properly assessed against the relevant eligibility criteria.
Tom Floru, doctoral researcher and part of the team that filters the deals before they are considered for nomination, reveals they have been putting an emphasis on encouraging advisors to complete all elements of the submission files.
“This has resulted in more detailed and compelling submissions, providing the jury with a stronger basis for evaluation and comparison.”
Beyond recognising outstanding transactions, Mathieu believes the M&A Awards offer the Belgian dealmaking community an opportunity to learn from one another. Based on their screenings, the research team notes that the nominated deals illustrate the different strategies, structures and approaches that underpin successful transactions across a range of sectors and categories.
“We hope attendees will gain insights into the decisions and processes behind these transactions, discover interesting examples of value creation and exchange perspectives with professionals in the market,” they conclude.
The winners will be announced during the gala dinner on 26 November.
Join us on the evening to celebrate all the nominees:
88% of the tables have already been sold.
