Analysis has revealed yet another way in which 2021 was a landmark year: marking the first time in history when global M&A deals topped $5 trillion – and even approached $6 trillion.1 While impressive in its own right, it is equally noteworthy that the trend shows no sign of slowing down just yet. It is likely that companies will continue to buy aggressively through this coming summer. One of the biggest such purchases of March was the $16 billion acquisition of Nielsen Holdings by a private equity consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management and Elliott Management.2 Nielsen’s stock jumped 20.9% following news that it had agreed to be taken private. Other M&A developments of note include Berkshire Hathaway’s $11.6 billion purchase of Alleghany Corp3, UnitedHealth’s $5.4 billion purchase of LHC Group4 and Caerus Oil and Gas’s potential $2.5 billion sale to an as-yet-unknown buyer.5 Owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions, In the months ahead we can expect to see various planned acquisitions of Russian or Ukrainian entities falling through. 13 such cross-border deals were announced in the past six months6, whose fate is now uncertain. While buyside M&A in Russia is cratering, however, many large organisations are taking the opportunity to offload their business ventures in the country. BP, Shell and Exxonmobil are among those multinationals selling off significant stakes amid global backlash against the invasion.7 News in the IPO space is similarly grim. Although global IPOs got off to a strong star this year, with total value exceeding a record $32 billion in January, the quarter overall has seen a 37% decline year-on-year8 that is easily attributed to the emerging Russia-Ukraine tensions and ensuing war in February. It remains to be seen to what extent activity in the latter half of 2022 will pick up as organisations postpone their planned listings. What’sHappening in theWorldof M&As and IPOs? 96 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM APR 2022 1https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ma-deals-top-5-trillion-for-first-time-ever-in-2021-no-signs-of-slowing-in-2022-301494712.html 2https://www.barrons.com/articles/nielsen-stock-price-private-equity-acquisition-51648555156?tesla=y 3https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/berkshire-hathaway-acquire-alleghany-116-bln-deal-2022-03-21/ 4https://www.reuters.com/article/lhc-group-ma-unitedhealth/update-3-unitedhealth-to-buy-lhc-group-for-5-4-bln-in-home-healthcare-push-idUSL3N2VW2I0 5https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-gas-producer-caerus-explores-25-bln-sale-sources-say-2022-03-25/ 6https://www.globaldata.com/russia-ukraine-conflict-likely-derail-planned-ma-deals-says-globaldata/ 7https://capitalintelligence.acuris.com/sanctions-are-closing-the-doors-on-russian-buyside-ma#! 8https://www.finews.com/news/english-news/50791-ukraine-russia-ipo-slump-2022-ey-report
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