Moderators of the day:

EVA BERLAUS, Managing Partner at Sorainen

MĀRTIŅŠ BIČEVSKIS, Board Member & Mentor at Click & Grow, AM Craft and LatRailNet

IEVA JĀGERE, Director General of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA)

STANISLAW SAWCZYN, Head of Central and South Eastern Europe at Rothschild & Co

The era of "wait-and-see" is over. How structural changes in manufacturing, AI, dual-use technologies, and regional strong and stable macro will impact M&A in 2026.

How are global M&A and private equity trends shifting in the current geopolitical and regulatory context? What do these developments mean for deal flow in the Baltics, and where do the key opportunities and challenges lie for the year ahead?

Panellists:

JULIJUS GRIGALIŪNAS, Managing Partner at Porta Finance

VALĒRIJA LIEĢE, CFA, Partner at Oaklins Baltics & Oaklins Cyprus

HENRIK IGASTA, Managing Partner at Superia

Moderator: STANISLAW SAWCZYN, Head of Central and South Eastern Europe at Rothschild & Co

Geopolitical pressures and rising demand for defence technologies are reshaping the market. Is now the right moment for founders and investors to exit, or does scaling further offer greater long-term value?

Panellists:

JUDR. DR. MICHAELA STESSL, Country Managing Partner at DLA Piper

JURIS VIKTORS OZOLS, Founder & former CEO of Ammunity, CEO at VDS Manufacturing

DONATAS SIRGEDAS, CEO at Quantum Systems Lithuania

WOLFF VAN SINTERN, Partner & Co-founder, ETNA (investing in European Resilience)

Moderator: LAIMONAS SKIBARKA, Partner at Sorainen

MĀRTIŅŠ ĶEZBERIS, Strategy Director at Rimi Baltic Group

A retrospective look at the RIMI Baltic transaction – one of the largest deals in the Baltics – through three perspectives: the global view of the buyer and seller, the organisational impact on RIMI, and the experience of being inside the company as a leader and employee, concluding with a brief look at what comes next.

MĀRTIŅŠ MELLĒNS, Private Equity and Principal investing practice, McKinsey & Company

Europe's SME ownership landscape is at an inflexion point. Across industry verticals, a structural wave of founder exits – largely absent of in-family succession – is creating compelling deal flow across Western Europe and, for the first time, the trend has reached the Baltics. As the post-Soviet entrepreneurial class of the 90s reaches retirement, local PE is uniquely positioned to deploy bespoke capital solutions at scale.

NERIJUS DROBAVIČIUS, Partner at INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund and INVL Private Equity Fund II

In 2025, INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund exited the Danish MBL Group after five years of partnership that drove the company’s modernisation and international expansion. What lessons can be learned from how active collaboration creates value and positions a business for a successful exit to a global investor?

Panellists:

IEVA JANSONE-BUKA, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Altum

OSKARS BRIEDIS, Funds Manager at Swedbank Investment Management

ROKAS ŽEMAITIS, Baltic Capital Markets Acceleration Fund Partner

EDMUNDS ANTUFJEVS, Head of Investment Banking at Signet Bank

Moderator:

ERNESTS BORDĀNS, Partner at Livonia Partners

The Baltics offer a growing menu of local investment opportunities - from private equity, venture capital, infrastructure, and real estate to public equities, and bonds. This panel takes stock of where the real opportunities lie for institutional investors and other capital allocators to invest locally, and what role government development institutions can play in fostering that ecosystem.

JASON USLAN, CCO of Wildix

How did the Livonia Partners-backed Wildix, quietly built from the Baltics, become the only European UCaaS software in Gartner Magic Quadrant with over one million users, operating fully remote organization, across dozens of global markets? Jason Uslan shares the story: the go-to-market model that makes it possible, how an investor helps to shape the company's strategy, management, and global growth ambitions, and what the rise of AI means for B2B SaaS — who wins, who gets disrupted, and where the value lies.

Baltic companies are increasingly looking beyond their home markets, moving from being targets to becoming active acquirers abroad. This session brings together two notable outbound expansion examples from across the Baltics to explore key drivers, lessons learned, and the impact of this trend on regional dealmaking.

ARTŪRS ČIRJEVSKIS, CEO of the Food Union Group in Europe

SVEN NUUTMANN, Chairman of the Board of PLG Group

Moderator: MIKE SOUTHON, Chief Editor at StartupMafia

Successful M&A and private equity outcomes depend on more than strategy and capital. This fireside chat examines how leadership, culture and talent decisions drive value creation from due diligence through integration and long-term growth, and how they can become a strategic advantage as companies scale beyond their home markets.

TERJE EICHELMANN, Associate Partner at Amrop

JÜRGO PREDEN, Founder of Airi BMS

RIHARDS ZAĻUPE, Latvian composer, producer, and percussionist, co-author of the Academy Award-winning film Flow

Celebrating last year’s milestone transactions, where the most significant deals in the Baltics – selected by an independent pan-Baltic committee – will be announced.