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Global dealmakers: North American M&A market update 2020
Aug. 4, 2020
The first six months of 2020 were marked by a pandemic and fears of a recession. As a result, dealmaker confidence in the North American market was shaken and the remainder of the year may not be much brighter.
The COVID-19 resurgence, trade wars, social and economic unrest, lockdowns and an upcoming presidential election have contributed to a downturn in mergers and acquisitions dealmaking, according to the most recent research conducted by Baker Tilly International and Mergermarket. After interviewing 150 dealmakers from across the world, some of the key findings were:
This latest issue of the ‘Global Dealmakers: Crossborder M&A outlook’ series explores current trends and challenges shaping the North American M&A, while also exploring opportunity areas where dealmakers are likely to find value in the year ahead.
COVID-19’s impact on M&A and the general market in the first half of the year was swift, and the resulting unemployment rate and sudden draw down on lines of credit has created chaos in the debt markets. Debt funds are also dealing with mark downs in the value of their portfolios. All this has led to a severe liquidity crunch for a significant source of acquisition capital and investment bankers could no longer predict how much a buyer can borrow. As such, most prospective deals were put on hold.