Recent Insights

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to escalate, ensuring wellbeing of employees is paramount, but it is not the only challenge. There is a vast sway of operational and legal issues that businesses must address, too.

Insights from our M&A team, based on M&A activity charts from the White & Case M&A Explorer.

A surge of interest from inbound investors drives recovery after a sharp fall in Q1

Growing investor appetite for financial products with a positive impact, coupled with a demand for recovery capital post-COVID-19, have lifted the market for social bonds

Strong ESG credentials and long-term plans to improve their relationship with society and the environment are increasingly important to ensure companies’ access to capital

The disruption to capital markets caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has not shifted the overall timeline of regulators and industry bodies for the replacement of US dollar LIBOR with SOFR by the end of 2021

Investor sentiment has begun to recover, but ratings downgrades and higher pricing continue to keep loan markets on alert

A handful of large deals struck early in the year provided a few bright spots for Italian M&A activity in H1 2020

The global mining & metals industry began the new decade on a positive note. But as the global economy is struck by the unprecedented force of the coronavirus pandemic, how is the sector positioned for life post-COVID-19?

We highlight the key European M&A trends in the first half of 2020, and provide our insights into the outlook for M&A moving forward.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, global M&A value dropped to the lowest half-yearly total since H1 2010

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, total buyout volume in the first half of 2020 dropped 23% annually, while value fell 30%—less than half the rate of decline of overall M&A

French M&A activity has suffered steep falls because of COVID-19, but green shoots are emerging as lockdown measures ease

Technology dealmaking has continued apace in 2020 as M&A investors take advantage of the sector's resilience to transact

The megadeals of 2019 may be off the table for now, but deal activity across healthcare and pharmaceuticals has proven resilient through the COVID-19 crisis

Low prices and excess supply have pushed oil & gas balance sheets to the brink, which means raising traditional debt will remain difficult and restructurings are expected

Remote working, online shopping and telemedicine have shielded the technology sector from the worst effects of COVID-19 lockdowns

The year started strongly for many nations in Latin America, but coronavirus has heavily impacted the M&A market.

COVID-19 has pushed healthcare systems around the world to the limit, but depending on the vertical, certain companies have been less affected than those in other sectors—and the availability of credit to battle the pandemic has helped

COVID-19 is hammering leisure sector M&A—but not so much that opportunities have vanished

Even though COVID-19 has taken a toll on consumer spending and supply chains, the food and beverage industry has shown resilience and continues to tap credit markets

Few sectors have felt the impact of COVID-19 as deeply as aviation, and airlines are exploring all lines of finance to bolster balance sheets.

COVID-19 travel restrictions have put the aviation industry on the backfoot. M&A will not be an immediate priority, but consolidation and distressed deals will come in time

The COVID-19 lockdown forced restaurants, hotels, gyms, theaters and casinos to shut their doors and put balance sheets under extreme strain, but some have tapped debt markets to see them through

Retailers faced a difficult financing market before COVID-19 appeared, but lockdowns have made the situation even tougher

COVID-19 has put dealmaking in the already disrupted retail industry under further strain. Some retailers, however, have proven resilient and those that survive will see opportunity to vertically integrate supply chains and invest in technology capabilities

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed some of the shortcomings of major cities in times of crisis. As the world searches for ways to make urban areas more resilient, smart city initiatives offer some of the answers.

Oil & gas dealmaking has plummeted following a period of prolonged low oil prices and a steep fall in demand due to COVID-19. However, large players with strong balance sheets could still see opportunities to invest

Underwriters are grappling with the need to support clients that are accessing funding, while maintaining disclosure standards and managing their risk when the tools they’ve typically used may be unavailable

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic saw high yield bond issuances grind to a halt at the end of Q1, but markets started to revive in Q2

Despite a promising beginning to the year, US and European leveraged loan markets felt the full economic impact of the pandemic

We highlight the responses companies are taking in light of the current environment and the arguments some buyers are making to terminate transactions

Half of the executives in our survey expect to do more deals if there's a downturn in 2020 than if there isn't

Activism affects virtually everyone now—even those who may never have to deal with an activist

Cross-border M&A remains a high priority—though trade wars and national security rules change the game for some

Digital drives deals in every sector, ensuring tech is a primary focus of M&A across the board—even as data challenges multiply

In a world roiled by activism, geopolitical uncertainty and data risk, dealmakers are eager to lean in, according to our survey

As the effects of coronavirus on the primary and secondary debt markets continue, there will be ongoing implications for leveraged finance transactions

LIBOR, one of the most significant global benchmarks for calculating interest, is to be phased out by 2021 and replaced by alternative benchmarks in the form of risk-free rates. With LIBOR widely used in the loan, bond and derivatives markets, and in many long-term contracts, the impact of this change cannot be underestimated. The transition to the new replacement rates will not be an easy process, but it is a necessary one, and market participants must start now.