#inFocus

Corporate Restructuring and M&A Trends 2021: Sharpening the Core

initiated by

New webinar series of M&A REVIEW EUROPE

#inFocus

With the new webinar series "#inFocus", M&A REVIEW EUROPE, a joint initiative of the German-speaking M&A REVIEW and French Fusions & Acquisitions, fills an existing gap in its service programme. During the last months we have often been asked whether we could offer not only relevant M&A articles but also regular webinars on current "hot" topics for the European M&A/PE community with our access to top-class speakers from the M&A scene.

In times like these, we are of course very happy to take such enquiries and requests as an opportunity to add new services to our portfolio. After all, we small publishing houses are also facing tough competition, which we can only overcome with high quality content and support of our partners.

In the first webinar of this series, which we intend to offer on a monthly basis, we will look at the expected development of the European M&A market in 2021.

Many thanks to all partners involved!

#inFocus - 01/21

Corporate Restructuring and M&A Trends 2021: Sharpening the Core

The Corona pandemic is having a significant impact on corporate M&A activity. Various studies assume that the likelihood of divestitures by corporates will again increase significantly over the next 12 months and distressed M&A will also increase. But not only Corona is a challenge corporates are facing.

There are a number of other factors driving restructuring activity. The changing geopolitical landscape is a major issue, especially in light of the US presidential election and the post-Brexit arrangement in Europe. The need for digital transformation in every industry is also fueling further restructuring.

A good starting point to discuss the expected trend of the European M&A market in 2021 are the results of the Corporate Restructuring Report by our partner SS&C Intralinks, published on 11 January. In total, 75 corporate finance and restructuring lawyers were surveyed by Mergermarket in Q3 and Q4 2020 on their expectations for developments in corporate restructuring in 2021. We have summarised some of the key findings for you (see right column).

Now we are in Q1 2021 and nothing is more obvious than to ask a panel of M&A experts from different disciplines from almost all over Europe about the actual developments and their expectations for the rest 2021.

Selected Key findings of the SS&C Intralinks report include:

Corporate restructuring is accelerating, with 73 percent of respondents in the process of a major restructuring or planning such activity.
Such restructuring is significantly more likely to involve divestment processes than M&A activity
Respondents expect divestment to be the most common form of restructuring activity over the next 12 months, followed by a withdrawal from unprofitable areas.
The most significant drivers of restructuring activity will be the global macroeconomic slowdown and the need to respond to financial stress.
At a corporate level, the most significant drivers of restructuring are the need for technological advancements (66 percent), regulatory or political developments (64 percent) and stagnant demand (63 percent).
With regard to Western Europe, respondents are most likely to expect companies to see a higher level of restructuring activity

Full report with all Key findings can be downloaded here!

Moderator & Panelists

5 - 6 pm (CET)

Moderator: Brian S. Hwang, Director of Product Marketing, Intralinks

Brian S. Hwang is Director of Strategic Business & Corporate Development at Intralinks. Brian joined Intralinks from RR Donnelley Global Capital Markets where he primarily worked with clients in the Midwest and Northeast, consulting on initiatives related to disclosure issues for SEC financial reporting, US Proxy compliance and transactional due diligence. Brian started his career with New York City law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he was involved in the due diligence and execution of transactions, valued at over $350 billion.

Aurelien Gore-Coty, Director, Lazard

Aurelien Gore-Coty, Director at Lazard, joined the investment bank in 2016. He began his career at Royal Bank of Scotland from 2005 to 2009 and then joined Messier Maris & Associés, from 2010 to 2015, as a Director. Aurélien specialized from the beginning of his career in financing and restructuring. He also assists numerous private equity funds, European leaders and corporates, in their acquisition and divestment strategies. Aurélien holds a Master's degree in Business Law and Corporate Taxation from the University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas, and a Master's degree in Finance from ESCP Business School.

Delphine Caramalli, Partner, Clifford Chance

Delphine Caramalli joined Clifford Chance as a Partner in 2019. She is specialized in financial and operational restructuring, insolvency proceedings and distressed M&A. Delphine works on domestic and international transactions alongside corporations as well as private equity funds and hedge funds acting as shareholders or bondholders. Delphine is a prominent doctrinal author. She is a member of the Paris bar association since 2001. She co-founded the WIR (Women in restructuring) in France in 2018.

Philipp Marquardt, Director, AlixPartners

Almost 15 years of professional experience in value creation projects, specializing in the execution of complex carve out and PMI transactions as well as corporate improvement initiatives. He has worked on several international M&A transactions over the past years, advising medium and large corporations (~$1B to ~$20B sales) mostly in the DACH manufacturing industry on successfully separating or acquiring businesses. Philipp has an EMBA from Technical University Munich and is a Certified Private Equity Analyst and Project Management Professional.

Miguel Ángel Hernández, Team Lead Southern Europe, Tokio Marine HCC

Miguel joined Tokio Marine HCC in 2012 and, currently, leads our Southern European team. He is a qualified Spanish lawyer, specialising in corporate and commercial law as well as M&A transactions and has worked in the M&A industry for over 15 years. He has concentrated on both the legal and the underwriting side of this industry and developed a strong international focus. As such, his extensive experience spans many jurisdictions including Asia Pacific, Continental Europe, Latin America and the UK.

0


Registration