Publishing date: Mar 31, 2021 • 10 hours ago • 5 minute read •
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(Bloomberg) Dealmaking came roaring back in the first quarter, climbing to a record $1.1 trillion as big acquirers moved past the pandemic slowdown and blank-check companies snapped up targets.
It’s the best start of the year since at least 1998, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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Mergers and acquisitions soared in every region, with North America acquirers leading the way with $644 billion of transactions. Deals by European buyers rose 41% to $286 billion, while companies in Asia Pacific spent $261 billion.
It’s the best start of the year since at least 1998, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Mergers and acquisitions soared in every region, with North America acquirers leading the way with $644 billion of transactions. Deals by European buyers rose 41% to $286 billion, while companies in Asia Pacific spent $261 billion.
“I haven’t seen these levels of activity for a long time and I don’t see a meaningful slowdown any time soon,” said Alison Harding-Jones, head of M&A for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Citigroup Inc. “Stocks are highly valued, financing markets are supportive and there’s money coming in from a number of places.”
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Paul Weiss advances West Coast expansion plans with trio of litigation partners from Orrick
21 January 2021
Paul Weiss advances West Coast expansion plans with trio of litigation partners from Orrick
New York firm also brings in corporate partner from Kirkland & Ellis to bolster new San Francisco office
By kropic1; Shutterstock Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison is pressing ahead with its plans to open a San Francisco office with the hiring of four experienced Northern California partners. Melinda Haag, Walter Brown and Randy Luskey join the firm’s litigation department from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, with Jeremy Veit joining the corporate department from Kirkland & Ellis. The four new arrivals will form the foundation of the firm’s Bay Area expansion, alongside litigation partner Meredith Dearborn who joined in the summer from Boies Schiller Flexner when Paul Weiss first revealed its West Coast expansion plans.
M&A deals come roaring back as executives plot post-COVID future
Myriam Balezou, Crystal Tse and Kiel Porter, Bloomberg News A bird flies between office towers in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Friday, May 22, 2020. , Bloomberg
Global merger and acquisition activity clawed its way back from near-decade lows in 2020, facing down the COVID-19 pandemic with a string of large transactions in the second half of the year that dealmakers hope will continue.
Deal volumes are now down about six per cent for the year to US$3.5 trillion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Still, the fact that about two-thirds of those were inked since the start of July has advisers talking about a dramatic comeback, after the first half of 2020 froze M&A and sent North American deal activity down more than 50 per cent.