ICON to share international tech M&A insights at Engaged Investments Conference
30.09.2026
ICON Corporate Finance is set to take part in the Engaged Investments Conference in Prague on 21–22 October 2026.
The conference brings together tech investors, entrepreneurs, and technology leaders from across Central and Eastern Europe, providing an opportunity to share perspectives on the region’s evolving investment and M&A landscape.
ICON will be represented by Ben Kolada, Managing Director and Head of US Tech M&A Investment Banking, Florian Depner, Director, and Will Cave, Associate Director.
Ben will deliver a keynote titled ‘Exiting across the Atlantic: The US M&A opportunity for CEE tech scaleups’, exploring how companies across the Czech Republic and wider CEE region can use strategic M&A to turn equity value into liquidity and financial returns. Drawing on ICON’s experience advising technology companies on international transactions, Ben will examine what makes a business attractive to cash-rich US strategic acquirers and the tactics founders can use to position themselves for a successful international sale.
His session will draw on transactions including ICON’s sale of Brno-headquartered eCommerce data optimization pioneer ROI Hunter to US-headquartered Pattern Group, as well as broader experience of strategically valued technology transactions, including deals achieving valuations of up to 60x ARR.
ICON Director Florian Depner will be joined by Phonexia CEO Markéta Lőrinczy to deliver a case study on the Brno-based voice technology software provider’s 2025 sale to Crescendo Equity Partners. Their conversation will cover the shareholders’ decision rationale in pursuing a transaction, what the process felt like from the management side, the challenges in finding the right acquirer, and lessons learned along the way.
ICON’s participation will also include hosting an Investor Breakfast Roundtable on 21 October, bringing together a select group of investors and M&A professionals for an invitation-only discussion, ‘The AI Stress Test: Which Tech Businesses Will Emerge Stronger?’. The discussion will examine how AI is changing the investment and exit case for technology businesses, including how investors can assess disruption risk, AI defensibility and the potential for new sources of value across different business models, sectors and stages of growth.
“We’re looking forward to bringing ICON’s international M&A perspective to Engaged and sharing some of the lessons we’ve learned from advising technology companies on cross-border transactions. The Czech Republic and wider CEE region have built an impressive technology ecosystem, and we see significant potential for US and international acquirers to pursue additional strategic M&A in the region.”
