In the new issue of GOLD, coming out on Sunday, 18 January, we examine the consolidations and takeovers that made 2025 a memorable year for business in Cyprus (click here).
By mid-2025, global M&A volumes were up 25% year-on-year to roughly US$2 trillion, even as deal counts sank to their lowest level in two decades. Once buyers adjusted to the new political and macroeconomic weather, though, momentum returned – decisively and expensively.
From Netflix acquiring Warner Bros for US$82,7 billion, fending off Paramount’s audacious hostile counteroffer, to the US$57 billion leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts, the second half of the year cemented 2025 as the year of the megadeal.
Cyprus, inevitably, plays on a smaller stage. Yet judged proportionately, 2025 was one of its most active dealmaking years in recent memory. Banking consolidation alone, fuelled by Greek incumbents expanding their local footprint, was sufficient to move the needle in our compact economy.
More broadly, deal activity had been building steadily since the post-pandemic rebound, evolving in both scale and sophistication. Technology emerged as a standout. Global software groups increasingly view Cyprus as an operational base rather than a back office – a platform offering EU market access, regulatory familiarity and proximity to the Middle East. The introduction of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime added further impetus, triggering acquisitions by global crypto platforms eager to secure CySEC licences and passport services across the bloc.
In this cover story, we map the major – and occasionally minor – deals that shaped Cyprus in 2025. In addition, five M&A experts from leading advisory firms share their perspectives on valuations, trends and the shifting appetite for dealmaking across the island’s evolving economy.
Interviews with:
- Dinos Constantinou (OAKLINS)
- Christophoros Anayiotos (KPMG)
- Michalis Stephanou (PwC Cyprus)
- George Themistocleous (RSM Cyprus)
- Pavlos Economou (Ependisis.com)
- Nikolas Evangelou & Panayiotis Georgiou (Alma Advisors)
- Panikos Teklos (XPADIA)
Special Feature:
- Tax Advisory Firms
Exclusive interviews & features:
- A Shared Mediterranean Outlook - Portugal’s Ambassador to Cyprus, Vanda Sequeira
- The Eternal Optimist - Dagfinn Lunde, Chairman and Co-founder of eShipFinance
- A Little Less Competition - ACEMPI Chairman Ioannis Georgoulas
- Sustainable Growth Rather than Rapid Expansion - Dmitry Byshonkov, Chief Business Development Officer of MY.GAMES
- Life on Mars - George Lordos Ph.D, Research Scientist and Lecturer at MIT
My Way: Alex Josephides
Five Minutes With: Dieter Rohdenburg
Start Me Up: Digital Fox
In Good Company: Freedom24
You can download the magazine app on AppStore / GooglePlay /WebApp using the keywords GoldMagazine for Gold Magazine. You can also read the magazine online at the link https://www.magloft.com/app/goldmagazine#/shelf/view/default
All this and more in Issue 178 of GOLD magazine, out on Sunday, 18 January. Click here to read the digital edition.
