Coronavirus (COVID-19) is likely to have a significant
impact on M&A sentiment and deal negotiations. What should
dealmakers in Australia be doing differently in this
environment?
While it's too early to know the full impact of the COVID-19
on M&A volumes in 2020, it's clear that dealmakers will
need to consider transactions through a lens which reflects the
potential ramifications of the pandemic.
M&A deals will become more difficult at all stages of the
transaction execution process. Parties involved in transactions at
the early stages will need to consider how to address COVID-19
issues in their due diligence and documentation, while buyers on
M&A transactions which signed before the COVID-19 outbreak will
be carefully reviewing their agreements to see if there might be
opportunities to terminate or reprice the deal.
