March 15, 2022 by Philip Porado
Calendar 2021 marked the first full year of positive mergers and acquisitions (M&A) performance for the world’s deal makers since 2016, said research compiled for WTW’s Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor.
The research, conducted in partnership with the M&A Research Center at The Bayes Business School, examines completed deals valued at or above US$100 million. It finds North American deal activity almost doubled, with 614 deals closing in 2021, compared with 325 in the prior 12 months.
“M&A activity in 2022 looks poised to match the peaks of 2015, although deals will remain susceptible to increasing challenges,” said Duncan Smithson, WTW’s senior director, HR mergers & acquisitions in North America. “High valuations, deal complexity, competition for high-quality assets and pandemic-fueled supply chain disruption will continue to have knock-on consequences for deal makers.”
The report identifies five M&A trends for 2022:
This article is excerpted from the Feb.-Mar. issue of Canadian Underwriter.
Feature photo courtesy of iStock.com/nespix