Mergers and acquisitions slowed ahead of US election after uneven third quarter By Reuters

By Anirban Sen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Dealmakers are bracing for a slowdown in global mergers and acquisitions in the fourth quarter as companies put off pursuing big targets ahead of the U.S. election, hoping it will be only a temporary setback before a rebound next year .

The following are comments from investment bankers and M&A lawyers on the near-term outlook for dealmaking:

TOM MILES, GLOBAL CO-HEAD OF M&A, MORGAN STANLEY

“We haven’t seen any deals over $50 billion. If you look in history, you usually see a good number of larger trades. And that increases transaction volume. If this is the measure, the lack of transactions over 50 billion dollars. affects the volume that people refer to. It’s clear that the lack of larger deals is a direct result of the regulatory pressures that have been there over the last couple of years, but you haven’t seen many very large deals in sectors like healthcare and technology.

“The number of deals from $1 billion to $10 (billion) or even over $10 billion is quite large. This has not been a slow year in that regard. $10 billion to $20 billion and it’s been an active market. People say the market isn’t very strong, but the truth is it’s been active, and companies continue to deploy capital in mergers and acquisitions.

ERIC TOKAT, CO-PRESIDENT OF INVESTMENT BANKING, CENTERVIEW PARTNERS

“I anticipate that 2025 will be a robust year for M&A. There is quite a lot of activity overall. The question is which ones turn into actual big deals, but we’re seeing quite a bit of momentum. When I look at the trade today, we are more bullish and more positive than negative compared to what we were looking at a few quarters ago.”

JAY HOFMANN, CO-HEAD OF M&A, NORTH AMERICA, JPMORGAN

“Companies are looking to do big, creative deals, but they’ll only pull the trigger in the next couple of months if there’s low risk … We’re still in an environment where buyers want to trade in the middle of the runway from a rational strategic”.

FRANK AQUILA, SENIOR M&A PARTNER, SULLIVAN & CROMWELL

“There is a much higher level of activity, with M&A being a much higher corporate priority for many clients. This is largely because the US should continue to have a good economy – not necessarily the strongest economy, but certainly not a weak economy – over As a result, boards and management are not very concerned about a short-term recession with interest rate cuts and you’re definitely looking at the right trading environment.

“There is a high probability that European and Japanese companies will focus on acquisitions in the US. They recognize that there is potential for much higher revenue and profit growth in the US over the next few years than in their home markets. we will see other cross-border activity, but inbound US M&A in particular will be a focus. I think we’ll see further consolidation in certain sectors like healthcare, financial services and technology well into the last quarter of 2024. But more than that, it’s really a signal that we’re going to see a very strong start to 2025.”

ADAM EMMERICH, CO-PRESIDENT OF WACHTELL LIPTON’S CORPORATE DEPARTMENT

“I don’t think people are very clear on what either administration (Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump or Democratic challenger Kamala Harris) would mean for different different aspects of the regulatory picture. the new administration.”

EAMON BRABAZON, CO-HEAD EMEA M&A, BANK OF AMERICA

“There has been a real expansion in terms of both transaction speed and transaction type. The full toolkit is being used and that’s a good sign.

Over the next two years, we expect to see an above-trend level of sponsor exits, possibly surpassing previous historical peaks.”