Foley & Lardner LLP partner Louis Lehot highlighted opportunities and challenges for the M&A market in the Law360 article, “Mid-Year M&A Deal Flow Suffers Amid Global Instability.”
“We all thought we were going to be riding this huge wave of tax cuts and interest rate cuts and deregulation,” Lehot said of the present environment. “The truth is we find ourselves in a trade war, in geopolitical conflicts in various places, no interest rate cuts…and obviously, uncertainty has been the key word of the first half.”
Despite the challenges, Lehot said that some big deals — especially those insulated from regulatory or geopolitical crosshairs — will always get done.
“I’m thinking about Google buying Wiz,” he noted. “That deal — who knows if antitrust authorities will approve it — but it’s the kind of strategic deal that’s immune to trade wars and antitrust. It’s about looking into the future and saying, ‘Let’s make some bets.'”
“There’s a great backlog of companies ready to be sold or exited through an IPO,” Lehot added, emphasizing his long-term optimism. “I think there’s a tremendous backlog like I’ve never seen — and I’m very excited.”
(Subscription required)
