Bob Bartell, Global Head of Corporate Finance at Duff & Phelps, was recently quoted in the International Financial Law Review article “COVID-19 Now Part of the M&A Legal Process.” As dealmakers adapt to a new environment, the deals that are in progress are factoring COVID-19 into the legal process and valuation.
Bob states that, "A few months ago, certain merger deals ironically excluded pandemics as a cause for a MAC clause. However, now people don't know what could transpire between signing and closing."
Pointing out that the volume of healthy company M&A has come to a complete halt, he adds, “For deals in the pipeline, credit markets will be totally different once regulatory approval comes. It is not just a buyers or lenders market. Covenants involved in deals are focusing on these scenarios."
Some new problems are also emerging with M&A players finding it difficult to agree on valuations. "What we could see starting to surface is buyer friendly reps and warranties”, says Bob.
International Financial Law Review subscribers can read the full article here.