Dealcast: The M&A Podcast

Despite rumors of political lobbying creeping into antitrust, “it’s a really good time for dealmaking here in the US.” That’s according to Kathy O’Neill, a partner in Fried Frank’s antitrust and competition department and former senior government official with 16 years of experience in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust division.According to O’Neill, early and proactive interactions with the US antitrust agencies, the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), can lead to smoother antitrust reviews. In her experience, constructive engagement on the merits has even led to the clearance of deals that were likely second request candidates.In this episode of Dealcast, O’Neill joins Mergermarket’s senior US regulatory reporter Serafina Smith to discuss best practices to get deals through antitrust review during the second Trump administration.This episode also addresses the agencies’ return to accepting merger remedies—especially structural relief—and the uptick of standalone enforcement by state attorneys general.

While deal volumes reach significant highs in the UK, the numbers are largely being driven by big deals with expensive price tags. But these big-ticket transactions may not be the tide that lifts all boats.The lower-to-middle market segment in particular is seeing more muted deal activity. So why the surge of large-scale deals while the mid-market flounders? In this episode of Dealcast, White & Case partner and head of the firm's UK Public M&A practice Patrick Sarch joins Mergermarket’s global commentary editor John West to discuss what’s happening under the surface with the UK’s M&A landscape.Transformational deals are certainly skewing the overall M&A haul, public and private volume together arriving at GBP 128bn year-to-date, of which just 25 deals account for GBP 110bn, according to Mergermarket data. In public M&A, three deals – Schroders/Nuveen, Intertek/EQT, and Beazley/Zurich Insurance Group – account for 90% of volume.Smaller which deals have faced difficulties in the UK have had less spectacular progresss amid sponsor exit headaches, the fallout from “SaaSmageddon” and inflation pressures.This episode explores: why buyers and sellers in the middle market are failing to see eye to eye on pricing, which particular deals are driving up the numbers, how the stagnating buyout class from 2020/2021 is impacting activity, and how the Iran war is threatening further inflationary risks on dealmaking.Further insights will be discussed at Mergermarket’s UK M&A Forum on 23 June in London, where White & Case is lead sponsor alongside KPMG.

In this week’s Dealcast, Mergermarket’s head of global ECM, Samuel Kerr, joins John West, Mergermarket’s global commentary editor, to discuss how both M&A and ECM, particularly IPOs, are faring in Europe so far this year.M&A on the continent has been off to a strong start with 1Q deal volumes, reaching around EUR 330bn, up 40% year over year. And while general equity capital markets are booming, IPOs, have stalled in reaction to the Iran war.In this episode, Kerr and West explore the factors supporting M&A and hindering IPOs amidst severe geopolitical disruption. The two discuss which companies have made headlines, how sponsor exits factor into lagging IPO activity, how performances on the aftermarket have fared in Europe and comparatively in the US, and finally, when we could expect to see a rebound in listings.All this and more in this week’s Dealcast.

“We can see every risk or dislocation as an opportunity.”  Although fundraising, exits, and investment have slowed, this is how Pamela Fung, a managing director and partner on Morgan Stanley's Private Equity Solutions team, sees the current state of private equity investment in Asia.Perceived risk has increased in the region in recent years amid China’s regulatory reset, tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and now war in the Middle East. In this episode of Dealcast, Fung joins Justin Niessner, the associate editor of the Asian Venture Capital Journal, to discuss where opportunity lies in the region. From deep innovation happening in areas like Chinese AI and robotics to underpenetrated industries in countries where many national economies show potential for “leapfrog” growth.  This episode explores: why GPs need to be hands-on with Asian investments, how policy initiatives and talent pools in countries like India are encouraging for investors, and how Morgan Stanley’s research aims to demystify the region.

The SEC is somewhat unsurprisingly shifting “back to basics” under the Trump 2.0 administration, according to Edward Best, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher on the corporate and financial services team and co-chair of the capital markets practice. During the Biden presidency, the agency focused on technical violations and retrieved billions of dollars in settlements, whereas the current leadership is focusing more on protecting investors and making capital markets more efficient, Best argues.In this episode of Dealcast, Best joins Mergermarket’s co-head of Americas ECM Troy Hooper, to discuss how this shift in agenda is impacting capital markets. They discuss how the SEC is trying to simplify IPO processes and why it’s considering moving away from quarterly to semi-annual reporting for public companies.The episode explores what kinds of deals are doing well, from follow-on offerings to IPOs. It looks at the shift away from startups to more established companies with well-founded financials. It also delves into the companies and industries that are perhaps less flashy, but are drawing increasing IPO interest, like construction companies, retail businesses, and widget-makers.With questions addressed like, which companies could be listing this year, why the market has seen a resurgence of SPACs over the last twelve months, and how volatility is impacting investor decision making, this episode is not one to miss.