[Last updated: 1 January 2025, unless otherwise noted]

Public merger and acquisition transactions are relatively common in Poland. Historically, the development of the Polish capital market, and, therefore, the market for corporate control, has been propelled by the privatization program implemented following the introduction of a market economy in 1989. The most notable merger and acquisition transactions in Poland have been acquisitions of formerly state-owned enterprises by Polish and foreign private investors. Currently, most takeover bids are acquisitions of private companies by strategic investors, exits by private equity houses and going private transactions. Takeovers usually take the form of a friendly acquisition preceded by negotiations between the exiting major shareholder and the new strategic investor, followed by a takeover bid addressed to all other shareholders of the target. Unsolicited or hostile takeover bids are rare, and most of them are unsuccessful. The number of takeover bids involving shares in companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange ("WSE") resulting from public to private transactions is expected to increase in the near future due to market conditions.