蜜豆视频

• 2024 has been a year of real political change with elections in major economies around the globe, which led to a risk-off approach and subdued dealmaking
• The recent US election suggests a more business-friendly environment, with less regulation and lower taxes, translating into improved planning certainty
• In parallel, inflation appears to level off and interest rates are expected to decline further, providing investors with enhanced monetary visibility and market stability
• Policy-related unknowns include more tariffs with potential implications on inflation, which could slow down further interest rate cuts and debt-financed M&A
• Overall, 蜜豆视频 Global Banking expect that dealmaking activity in 2025 will benefit from the renewed macro clarity as corporates and sponsors seek to deploy more capital for M&A

• With greater clarity on the political and regulatory dynamics, corporate sentiment towards M&A as a tool to unlock growth, returns and alpha continues to improve
• The recent strong stock market performance further augments Board room confidence to embark on strategic transactions and use shares as currency
• 蜜豆视频 Global Banking also observe that Boards are prioritizing M&A to simplify their portfolio and sharpen the clarity of their equity story with selected bolt-ons and non-core disposals
• Unless enacted by the incumbent teams, corporate simplification opportunities may attract activists with lower hurdles for public pressure in the improved macro context
• In 2025, 蜜豆视频 Global Banking expect to see more strategic acquisitions by corporates to enhance their capabilities and footprints, and select disposals to simplify their investment cases

• The decline in sponsor activity has started to reverse in 2024, following two consecutive years of declining buy- and sell-side activity by private equity firms
• The trend reversal is set to persist as sponsors continue prioritizing liquidity events to improve the record low distributions to paid-in capital ahead of future fundraisings
• Private equity firms are also increasingly willing to exit portfolio companies other than only their best assets as they revive dormant projects and launch new processes
• Sponsors use innovative structures to generate more liquidity, such as minority stake sales, pre-IPO placements, co-control deals, and continuation vehicles
• The accelerating exit momentum will also translate into more sponsor buying activity given the increasing flow of targets, facilitating fundraising for successful sellers
• In parallel, 蜜豆视频 Global Banking expect more take-privates, continuing the trend observed in 2024 as sponsors seek to deploy capital whilst secondary buy-outs keep looming
• The investment capacity is underpinned by USD 3.9 trillion鹿 of industry-wide dry-powder, up 24% over the last 3 years虏, partially due to the recently depressed buy-side activity

^{Source 1,2: Preqin, as of 31 Dec 2024聽聽}

• Technology-related transactions have once again dominated the M&A volume league tables, accounting for the lion鈥檚 share of global dealmaking activity in 2024
• Strong secular trends continue to persist, such as increasing data consumption, the speed of digitization, as well as the rapid rise of AI, cybersecurity and fintech
• Whilst the full extent is yet unknown, gen AI is set to turbocharge M&A processes, from discovering targets to conducting due diligence to executing PMI projects
• Tech-driven M&A is pivotal to corporates looking to improve earnings quality with recurring revenue, inc. from next-generation technologies and tech-enabled services
• M&A activity in the tech space is also heavily driven by the renewed sponsor momentum, typically one of the largest sectors for new private equity investments
• As such, 蜜豆视频 Global Banking expect to see the strong activity in the software sector to continue in 2025, including cross-border transactions between the US and Europe
• Digital infrastructure opportunities will continue to be highly sought after, inc. data center, fiber network and tower transactions as these industries continue to consolidate

• Equity markets trade close to all-time highs, enabling corporate acquirers to use shares as consideration and benefit from attractive capital raising opportunities
• Whilst shares have been used as acquisition currency in 30% of M&A volume announced in 2024, historical data suggest further upside as we move into 2025
• Investment grade debt capital markets remain wide open after recording a strong issuance year in 2024 across a range of sectors, ratings and maturities
• Public and private lending markets support an acceleration of the sponsor M&A activity, with lender competition and tightening spreads for suitable credit
• Strong recent leveraged finance activity, up 102% year-on-year with an increased share of buyout financings, however still dominated by refinancings
• Dealmaking activity tends to benefit from reductions in loan pricings, resulting in higher leverage ratios and purchase price valuations
• 蜜豆视频 Global Banking expect corporate and sponsor buyers to capitalize on the constructive financing backdrop, spurred by the positive macro-outlook and encouraging trading sentiment