Executive Summary/Highlights Global M&A volume was just US$730 billion in Q1 2020, a decrease of approximately 30% from Q4 2019 (US$1 trillion), approximately 25% from Q1 2019 (US$982 billion) and the lowest first-quarter global M&A volume since 2014 (US$657 billion). The decline in M&A volume relative to prior quarters was particularly pronounced in the United … Continued
This is a revised summary version of our initial client memos regarding the crisis. In his speech on March 16, President Macron stated, “we are at war,” six times. Since then, businesses continue to assimilate and react to the radical changes that have occurred over the last weeks. The government and various regulators, including the … Continued
Crystal Ball Gazing 2020 2020 introduces a new decade, one which already promises to be an exciting one for the legal sector and society in general. In this special newsletter, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek gazes into the crystal ball and highlights some of the more important trends and developments which could very well affect or … Continued
On 7 January 2020 Nasdaq Copenhagen announced an update to its issuer rules, introducing a requirement that a request for de-listing by an issuer of shares must be approved by 90% of the votes cast and share capital represented at a general meeting of the issuer in question. The new rules constitute a significant change … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights Global M&A volume approached US$3.9 trillion in 2019, the third highest annual total in the last decade, despite increasing global economic and political headwinds. Strong economic growth, low interest rates, record amounts of private equity dry powder and the availability of corporate cash fueled global M&A in 2019. The boom was strongest in … Continued
On December 20, 2019 the highest court of the Netherlands upheld an earlier decision by a lower court that insufficient action to address climate change posed a “risk of irreversible changes to the worldwide ecosystems and liveability of our planet” and a “serious risk that the current generation of citizens will be confronted with loss … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights: In Q3 2019, global M&A volume was US$784 billion, reaching US$2.8 trillion for the year to date. Global M&A volume could, based on the current pace, exceed US$3.5 trillion in annual volume in 2019 for the fifth time in the last decade. But there are signs of a slow-down. U.S. M&A volume, the … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights: In Q2 2019, global M&A volume reached US$1 trillion for the quarter and surpassed US$2 trillion for the year to date. Global M&A volume in 2019 is on pace to reach the US$4 trillion mark for the second consecutive year and only the third time in the last decade. The significant global deal … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights: Global M&A volume, which exceeded US$4.0 trillion in 2018, continued at a similar pace in Q1 2019, reaching US$958 billion. Global M&A volume in the first quarter of the year has been primarily driven by record levels of deal activity in the United States. It was the most active first quarter for U.S. … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights: Global M&A volume in 2018 reached US$4.0 trillion, a level achieved only once before in the last decade (2015). 2018 was a notably strong year for cross-border M&A, despite escalating trade tensions and anti-globalist rhetoric. US$1.6 trillion (39%) of deals in 2018 were cross-border transactions, approximating recent highs in terms of both dollar … Continued
