Deals Yearbook 2023: Strength in depth – market veterans and M&A stars on closing deals in tougher times
‘The wind was taken out of everyone’s sails’ – the M&A report 2023
2021 was always going to be a tough year to follow. Quite how tough, few could have foreseen at the start of 2022.
With global annual deal values totalling almost $6trn – a jump of more than 60% on 2020 – 2021 was roundly described in breathless superlatives. Following a year of pent-up demand during the pandemic, soaring levels of M&A activity were fuelled by the vaulting ambition of private equity (PE) houses, a surge in tech and pharmaceutical sector deals, and a boom in activity from special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). Continue reading “‘The wind was taken out of everyone’s sails’ – the M&A report 2023”
M&A veterans: Got the T-shirt – M&A Hall of Famers on closing deals in a crisis
A global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices and inflation, as well as interest rate hikes significantly pushing up the cost of debt – it is no wonder M&A markets are struggling right now. Against this backdrop of instability, arguably the bigger questions are how activity levels managed to hold up for as long as they have, and how they have not crashed further.
But, while City M&A partners are keen to stress that things could be far worse, and point to pipelines of deals in place for when markets pick up (see feature), the differences between now and this time last year are stark. Continue reading “M&A veterans: Got the T-shirt – M&A Hall of Famers on closing deals in a crisis”
Dealmakers – the veterans edit
Karen Davies – Ashurst London corporate partner and global chair
Why did you decide to become an M&A lawyer?
It was law or medicine, and halfway through my science A-Levels I realised that reasoning and debate was where my passion lay. I’ve never regretted it. I was initially drawn to M&A by the buzz of the deals, but what has kept me there is the complex and strategic nature of what we do. You really have to know the clients, understand their business and the issues they face, and appreciate what they are trying to achieve if you want to be a successful
M&A lawyer. Continue reading “Dealmakers – the veterans edit”
Deals Yearbook 2023 – online PDF
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