The big business frenzy is over – or is it?
The big picture: It depends on how you look at it. Corporate mergers and acquisitions and private equity acquisitions have kind of fallen off a cliff this year.
Yes, but: Despite all the uncertainty that pervades the markets – not to mention that it is more expensive to fund deals – deal activity is still heading for one of the busiest years on record (even if it simply won’t exceed not 2021).
State of play: Huge uncertainty has entered the market this year – the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices and, of course, the risk of recession.
- “In situations of economic uncertainty, the ability to come to an agreement between a buyer and a seller about what something will be worth in the future diminishes,” Christian Correa, president and CIO of Franklin Mutual Series, told Axios. .
- And process the activity has decreased since last year – just look at the table above.
But, but, but: Precarious times offer their own opportunities.
- “A lot of the conversation now is about how to take advantage of the situation presented by turbulent markets and a world where things aren’t as stable as they have been in the past,” says David Harding, consulting partner at Bain & Company.
- Another strategic shift: “Before COVID, everything was about finding the next disruption,” and acquiring new jobs, he says. “But we have seen a return to a more scale-focused approach [consolidation] offers.”
The bottom line: Despite all the uncertainty, Bain still predicts that globally, 2022 will be the second-biggest year on record for mergers and acquisitions.