The Impact Of COVID-19 On M&A Transactions

With COVID-19 shaking up the global economy, it is clear that M&A activity has been, and will continue to be, impacted. In Canada and the U.S. a number of previously announced deals have already been shelved and it is possible that more deals will continue to fail as companies focus on ensuring they have sufficient cash reserves and access to debt for the foreseeable future. At the same time, deal activity has not completely dried up and some market participants are continuing to pursue transactions, in many cases finding opportunity in the chaos.

For market participants choosing to proceed with M&A transactions during this unprecedented time or for those with previously signed deals, they will undoubtedly need to re-evaluate deal terms and contemplate a wide variety of unique risks and challenges. In this article, we have identified some key issues that parties to M&A transactions should consider in both the public and private M&A context.