HORIZONS | BDO'S GLOBAL VIEWOF MID-MARKET DEAL ACTIVITY 09
NORTHAMERICA
Q1 2022 NORTH AMERICAN M&A: TORRID PACE OF ACTIVITY SLOWS
The pace of overall middle-market M&A activity slowed in Q1 2022 as market participants assessed the war in Ukraine and soaring inflation. The number of middle-market M&A deals fell from 699 in Q1 2021 to 594 in Q1 2022 while the dollar volume of deals in Q1 2022 fell by $17bn over the comparable period. While first quarter activity suffered from sky-high comparisons to last year's record-breaking volumes which were hard to replicate, there is no question the uncertainty from geopolitical tensions, lower GDP growth, inflation, and the commodity pricing boom severely dampened M&A activity in the quarter. The drop in dealmaking in Q1 follows a record two years when stimulus measures implemented to quell the aftershocks of the pandemic led to booming equity markets and record dealmaking levels. Conversely, severe stock market volatility in Q1 made it more expensive for public companies to
use the power of their market capitalization to acquire competitors or smaller rivals. Market dislocation in Q1 was also prevalent in the IPO, high yield and syndicated debt markets indicating the impact geopolitical events and rising interest rates had on capital markets across the board. Despite all its challenges the overall environment for buyouts remains robust and while year over year M&A volumes are down, Q1’s pace is in line with the pre‑pandemic years of healthy deal- making. While a number of corporates rushed to exit Russia and shied away from using their cash piles for large buyouts in the face of declining equity markets and rising inflation, private equity investors continued to make up a larger portion of the M&A activity overall as the dry powder to deploy remains at record levels making up a record high 49.3% and 40.6% of Q1 middle-market M&A dollar volume and number of deals, respectively. The torrid pace of healthcare M&A activity, which typically accounts for a big share of deals, slumped by more than half
BIG PICTURE
• Overall dollar volume and number of deals slows from record-setting 2021 • War in Ukraine and inflationary pressures create uncertainty for deal‑making • Corporate buyers hit the pause button to assess post-pandemic priorities • Private equity activity represents nearly half of all M&A activity in Q1.
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