Finance & M&A: Top 10 trends to watch – 2023 Outlook

Though the top-end of the M&A market was notably impacted by the tighter lending, inflationary pressures and longer deal timelines throughout 2022, with lower valuations opening more options for funding, the midmarket offered a safe harbour for those looking to transact.

With the second half of 2022 plagued with uncertainty, deal activity and fundraising dropped to pre-pandemic levels after 2021’s boom year. This was largely due to external influences – war in Ukraine, an energy crisis, high levels of inflation, expensive and difficult to access capital – all factors that have followed us into 2023.

These influences had a direct impact on M&A and investor appetite, with 2022 seeing a reduction in M&A value by 37% worldwide (1) and total assets under management estimated to have declined by more than 15%. (2) This does however, reflect a return to pre-pandemic deal volumes (as illustrated by the graph below), with 2022 reflecting a correction of the rocketing valuations seen throughout 2021, where pent-up demand was released following 2020’s COVID-19 fuelled uncertainty.

(1) ‘Dealmakers brace for slow 2023 recovery after global M&A sinks’, Reuters, December 2022
(2) ‘Moody’s changes to positive from stable the outlook on Eurasian Bank’s ratings’ Moody’s, December 2022

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Laurent Leloup
– Fondateur Finyear, une publication du groupe Calmon Partners.
– Fondateur et CEO Leloup Partners (Web3 M&A, ICO Advisory)
– Formateur (blockchain, crypto, web3) entreprises, organisations et administrations (Ministère des Armées)
– Auteur de Blockchain, la révolution de la confiance
"La blockchain n’est pas la révolution tant annoncée, elle n’est que l’outil d’un monde lui-même entré en révolution"
– Traducteur de La Blockchain pour les Nuls et de Au cœur du bitcoin.