Torys´ Top 10 M&A Trends For 2009

Article by Torys Lawyers

The year 2008 brought a global credit crisis that adversely affected financial institutions and their clients, and thrust a new world on the business community and its advisers. In many cases, those financial institutions were driven into the hands of suitors, often government-backed, with breathtaking speed. The credit crisis also sounded the death knell for easily accessed capital to fund acquisitions, a tightening that had started in mid-2007. In the wake of this crisis, we are seeing the development of a wide array of bold strategies and tactics to navigate this new world.

In 2009, we expect to see these strategies and tactics enhanced and refined as the marketplace and courts redefine acceptable sale terms and conditions. The shortage of credit will favour strategic buyers with strong balance sheets and sovereign wealth funds with greater access to financing. Private equity will lean toward mid-market going-private transactions that