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The impact of the coronavirus crisis in 2020 led to subdued M&A activity in the first half, but dealmakers reached unprecedented levels of deal making in the final few months of the year. 

Congratulations to the winners of the Mergermarket Europe M&A Awards 2020.

The pandemic brought dealmaking to a halt for much of 2020. But there are signs of a recovery and a new report by Ansarada and Acuris reveals optimism is growing for 2021.

Following another period of lacklustre private equity exits in Q3, Europe saw a spike in divestments by buyout houses in October with momentum so far holding up in November, our data shows.

At the beginning of 2020, the signs for M&A in Portugal were positive – there was a strong pipeline of deals from both strategic and private equity players and expectations were high. Then the pandemic hit.

FDI scrutiny has seen many new developments in the last months, said Roberto Chieppa, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The official was speaking at Mergermarket’s Italian M&A and Private Equity Forum, held virtually.

First to feel the pains of COVID-19, Asia-Pacific may be one of the first regions to rebound in a post-pandemic world. Such is the sentiment among M&A dealmakers in the region. Read the full report with Baker Tilly here. 

Uncertainty and volatility will weigh heavily on market sentiment. Dealmakers are cautious and readying themselves for a difficult and challenging period ahead.

Business cycles are guaranteed, but few anticipated the global recession precipitated by a viral pandemic that sent the world into lockdown. Italy was the first country in Europe to be hit by the pandemic and has been on of the worst affected. Consequently, buyout activity and M&A more broadly took a significant hit. Read the full report published in partnership with Gatti Pavesi Bianchi here. 

Dealmaker sentiment has shifted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, many remain optimistic that economic conditions in Australia will be better than those in other global markets. Download the full report here. 

The European Commission has forecast an 8.7% contraction in the region's economy for 2020. Read the full European Deal Drivers report here. 

1H20 deal count falls to 165 transactions across the region

Inevitably, M&A activity was heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic that had such dramatic effects on markets worldwide during the first half of 2020. Download the Deal Drivers Americas report here. 

Southeast Asia is expected to begin to bounce back in 1H21 - in the best-case scenario that a vaccine will be rolled out next year - with deal activity picking up, especially industrial and technology deals.

Number of acquisitions by sponsors falls 28% with value down 12%

Mid-cap sponsor deals keep deal flame alive in lockdown months

Outbound deal flow overtakes inbound; bilateral and targeted processes rising trends in Norway

Fashion, retail and automotive sectors poised to be the most active