The Deal provides up-to-the-minute alerts and analytical intelligence focused on potential and announced transactions as well as the people driving them. We serve private equity investors, advisers and companies seeking growth in a rapidly changing world.
Dealmakers are taking a more nuanced view of geography, assessing every link in their supply chains to identify dependencies and risks. This approach is helping them make themselves more resilient against tariffs and the broader geopolitical backdrop.
In the US, for example, deal volumes and values fell 12% and 26% respectively, but there were more deals valued at $1bn or more than that, mainly due to a rise in transactions with technology, industrial and financial services sectors. Meanwhile, the aerospace and defense, chemicals, asset and wealth management and power and utilities sectors saw growth on both fronts.
Despite the uncertainty, there were still plenty of deals in the pipeline, a sign that M&A is far from dead. In fact, a recent PwC Pulse Survey found that 51% of US companies are still actively pursuing deals – a reflection of the continued drive to pursue change and business model reinvention in this new era of disruptive technologies.
Continuing its pursuit of the Permian Basin, energy giant ConocoPhillips bought fellow oil player SRS Energy in this all-stock deal. It also furthers the energy giant’s efforts to diversify its portfolio and stay competitive in a price-competitive industry. Meanwhile, software giant SAP took over digital adoption platform WalkMe in this all-cash deal. The move will help SAP’s clients better leverage their digital tools to accelerate adoption and productivity.