Public to private: a key feature of the post COVID-19 M&A landscape?
Key points to think about if considering a public to private M&A transaction.
Public to private transactions continue to represent a large percentage of the UK’s public M&A market. Before the COVID-19 pandemic there had been evidence of a steady increase in both interest in, and the number of, public to private transactions. Of the 66 firm offers announced in 2019, 32 (49%) were private equity bids and bids backed by other funds and investment companies. 2019 also saw more high value private equity and other fund-backed bids, with 7 of the 12 offers valued at more than £1bn coming from this category.
A combination of the fall in market valuations and the value of sterling as a result of the COVID-19 crisis together with the amount of committed capital available to private equity and other financial sponsors is likely to give impetus to the trend towards public to private transactions.
See our full article below for some of the key points for those considering a public to private transaction in the UK.
See our coronavirus (COVID-19) feature for more information generally on the possible legal implications of COVID-19.
