Jonathan Aiken attends Mergermarket Corporate Development Forum in London

Jonathan Aiken, Partner and BDA’s Head of London, joined a roundtable discussion at the Mergermarket Corporate Development Forum in London on April 27^th 2023. The panel of corporate and private equity professionals discussed current cross border M&A trends.

The participating panelists were:

Jonathan Aiken, Partner, Head of London at BDA Partners

Jess Zhou, Director, Corporate Development and M&A, Boehringer Ingelheim

Joakim Notö, Managing Partner, Group Chairman, Mimir Group

Daniel Blaettler, General Counsel Corporate, Finance & Transactions, Lonza

Lucinda Guthrie, Executive Editor, Mergermarket and Deal reporter

Jonathan’s key takeaways from the panel discussion were:

1. We expect a re-bound in mergers and acquisition activities during the second half of 2023. This is driven by a higher number of strategic buyers who will have more options in auction processes given challenging debt markets. We also predict transaction timeframes will extend, with increased prominence of bilateral transactions and earnout structures.
2. Tangible product and cash generative or “traditional” businesses will drive M&A activity. We predict there will be a resurgence in the luxury and the consumer sectors as China re-opens. Also, technology firms will continue to trade at more reasonable multiples compared to the post covid-boom.
3. We expect Europe to be less obstructionist compared to USA for inbound Asian M&A. There will be a re-evaluation and more activity by Chinese firms. In Europe we see fewer regulatory barriers despite headline news.
4. One of the biggest challenges we see for all regions is business forecasting and how to adapt to an inflationary and changing market environment.
5. Finally, the relative disadvantage in Western cost basis will require continued investment in Asian countries that play an important role in the global value chain.

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About BDA Partners

BDA Partners is the global investment banking advisor for Asia. We are a premium provider of Asia-related advice to sophisticated clients globally, with over 25 years’ experience advising on cross-border M&A, capital raising, and financial restructuring. We provide global reach with our teams in New York and London, and true regional depth through our seven Asian offices in Mumbai, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. BDA has deep expertise in the Chemicals, Consumer & Retail, Health, Industrials, Services, Sustainability and Technology sectors. We work relentlessly to earn our clients’ trust by delivering insightful advice and outstanding outcomes. BDA Partners has strategic partnerships with William Blair, a premier global investment banking business, and with DBJ (Development Bank of Japan), a Japanese government-owned bank with US$150bn of assets.

US securities transactions are performed by BDA Partners’ affiliate, BDA Advisors Inc, a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). BDA Advisors Inc. is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and SIPC. In the UK, BDA Partners is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In Hong Kong, BDA Partners (HK) Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) to conduct Type 1 and Type 4 regulated activities to professional investors. www.bdapartners.com