M&A market in the near-term is changing a little: (1) confidence is what drives deals (we’ve got low confidence); (2) it takes 6 months for private markets to catch up to the public markets; (3) low volatility enables an active M&A market, but currently volatility is still somewhat high. What’ll likely happen over the near term is growth rounds will continue as companies will need cash, IPOs (and seed to series A) will stagnate, and restructuring will pick up: energy, auto, leisure travel. PIPE deals or perhaps stock-for-stock will likely occur.
Q120’s numbers show a slowdown in all three categories of IPOs, acquisitions and buyouts. I can imagine Q2 will be even more damaging, but believe we will rebound as we did during 2008/2009 vs the slower rebound of 2001.
A Blog 