After a decade of relatively stable deal activity across Europe and globally, companies now find themselves operating in a new and evolving M&A environment. Transactional risk and disruption are the current norm, but against that backdrop of uncertainty, there are also opportunities. Distressed M&A has come back to the fore and we are starting to see interesting developments in deal strategy and negotiation tactics. We believe some of these developments are here to stay.

It is clear that just as governments seek to grapple with COVID-19 and the economic fallout, so too must dealmakers. M&A transactions will need to adapt to the current deal climate and the measures implemented in response to the pandemic; dealmakers will need to account for the impact on the general transaction framework and timeline, as well as the business being acquired or sold.