With Uncertainty the Killer of Deals, M&A Gradually Grows More Confident
Matthew Greenberg, chair of Troutman Pepper's Corporate practice, was quoted in the January 9, 2024, The M&A Journal article, " With Uncertainty the Killer of Deals, M&A Gradually Grows More Confident."
Matthew Greenberg, chairman of the corporate practice at Troutman Pepper and a member of the firm's Management Team and Policy Committee, agrees with the consensus that financing has been difficult, interest rates have been rising in a new era of such increases, and there is no paucity of uncertainty amid roaring wars in Europe and the Middle East. "These are incredibly interesting times," he says. Mr. Greenberg says two-thirds of his practice is dominated by middle market private equity and growth equity transactions. He also represents strategics with for the most part their add-on acquisitions, which are generally a mix of cross border deals in the tech and healthcare spaces. He sees a number of forces coming together that will give M&A a much-needed lift. He sees interest rates coming down, even if only slightly, which will encourage dealmakers that it's safe do a deal. Practitioners are getting more familiar with the new regulations and approaches of U.S. regulators and their counterparts around the world. He also predicts a growing appreciation for middle market companies, particularly as privately-held family companies begin to make the necessary generational changes that could well attract strategic and private equity to move in. "I don't know if we're going to return to the frenzy of 2021 for a while," he says, "but I'm cautiously optimistic," he says.