M&A for 2023

M&A activity is expected to pick up later in 2023 as financial sponsors deploy capital, activist investors press for corporate change and buyers and sellers agree on valuations and pricing.

After a muted second half of 2022. Factors most likely to drive activity include well-capitalized companies making acquisitions in their core businesses, financial sponsors deploying capital in acquisitions, uneven performance among companies stoking shareholder activism, and cross-border M&A making a comeback.

Deal-making is likely to accelerate in the second half of 2023 and beyond as some of the headwinds the M&A markets faced in the back half of 2022 abate.

Dialogues about potential strategic transactions have continued and there may be an explosive return of activity fueled by pent-up demand from financial sponsors. It may take some time for buyers and sellers to gain clarity on how inflation, foreign exchange rates, interest rates, and consumer demand will affect revenues and valuations.