Despite Brexit, the UK is still the top destination for US-EU inbound M&A activity, representing nearly 40 per cent of EU deals since 2009 – and activity could pick up with greater Brexit certainty.
The report, which gathers the collective thoughts of Akin Gump lawyers and senior dealmakers at global companies to see how Brexit, global trade disputes and this year’s US elections are shaping the deal landscape, also finds that even though M&A now involves additional layers of geopolitical and regulatory complexity brought on by global trade tensions and political turbulence, deals are getting done.
with Republicans and Democrats offering starkly divergent platforms on a number of key policy issues, the report says the results of the 2020 US elections are certain to influence M&A activity in 2020 and beyond.
Following a decisive UK election outcome, the report suggests that deal activity could pick up. “There is an M&A backlog, as some deals went on hold before the election,” says Akin Gump corporate partner Gavin Weir. “This bodes well for activity in 2020 as buyers and sellers return to the market.”
Sebastian Rice, partner in charge of Akin Gump’s London office, adds: “There is recognition that the [deal] process is more complex, but if you address issues early, deals will close.”
Looking at deal activity in the United States, Jeff Kochian, co-head of Akin Gump’s corporate practice, says: “The US M&A market has been very strong for the last several years. In spite of global trade and political volatility, the strong US economy and bullish equity markets have been particularly helpful to strategic buyers. Private equity has also been very active, doing more, albeit somewhat smaller deals.”