Category: Market Updates
Recent Release of Updated Procedures for Section 355 Private Letter Rulings
The US Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the IRS recently released Revenue Procedure 2024-24 (Revenue Procedure) and Notice 2024-38 (Notice) establishing revised standards and procedures for taxpayers seeking private letter rulings for spin-offs intended to qualify for tax-free treatment under Section 355 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Much of the Revenue […]
Representation and Warranty Insurance for M&A Deals: Cooling Market and Emerging Trends
While representation and warranty (R&W) insurance continues to be used across a broad range of M&A transactions, its use has cooled as dealmakers navigate challenging market conditions. Even for deals that are getting done, a smaller percentage of private deals have included R&W insurance than in recent, more robust M&A […]
Cooley’s 2023 Tech M&A Year in Review: An AI-Generated Glass Half Full
2023’s much-discussed downturn in mergers & acquisitions – with global M&A volume and value down 6% and 17%, respectively, from 2022 – was largely driven by the slowdown in the tech sector, with global tech M&A volumes down 51% year over year, while other sectors saw marked increases.[1] The headwinds […]
Cooley’s 2023 Activism Year in Review: Wolf Packs at the Gate
As we look ahead to the 2024 proxy season (and beyond), let’s review the key 2023 trends and developments from activism playbooks, with a sharp focus on the ever-changing landscape in the technology and healthcare sectors. Momentum building for 2024? Globally, 229 campaigns launched in 2023, just under 2022 campaign […]
Cooley’s 2023 Cross-Border M&A Year in Review: Navigating Choppy Waters Into a More Buoyant 2024
Cross-border M&A activity in 2023 was impacted by heightened geopolitical conflicts, high inflation and interest rates, and increased regulatory pressures as the global economy remained clouded by looming recession fears. Deal financing became more difficult and expensive, placing more emphasis on alternative funding and value creation. In such an environment, […]
Cooley’s 2023 Life Sciences M&A Year in Review: Potent Mix of Creativity and Resilience Spurs Activity Heading Into 2024
In a subdued year for global M&A, dealmaking in the life sciences industry came in waves, with a busy fourth quarter generating cautious optimism heading into 2024. While the year saw an overall decline in M&A activity (down 17% from 2022), total pharmaceuticals and life sciences deal value in 2023 […]
Recorded Event: A Discussion on the M&A Outlook for 2024
On October 4, 2023, Cooley M&A partner Kevin Cooper appeared at Axios’ Dealmakers: The M&A Forecast virtual event. During the “View From the Top” segment, Cooper spoke with Fabricio Drumond, chief business officer at Axios, about the M&A landscape going into Q4 2023. Cooper highlighted trends in market activity, deal structuring and […]
Cooley’s 2022 Tech M&A Year in Review
Tech M&A in 2022 was a tale of two halves. The year started off with a bang, with mega-deals such as Microsoft’s pending $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter and Broadcom’s pending $61 billion acquisition of VMware inked in quick succession. However, deal […]
Cooley’s 2022 Life Sciences M&A Year in Review
Although 2022 saw a general decline in M&A activity in the life sciences industry compared to 2021’s frenetic pace (when deal volume was up 52% from 2020), life sciences deal flow in 2022 on balance remained strong despite the headwinds. Creativity was the year’s primary theme as biotechnology companies increasingly […]
Cooley’s 2021 Life Sciences M&A Year in Review
General trends in life sciences M&A Although the COVID-19 pandemic that defined 2020 continued to shape much of the life sciences industry in 2021, the way that it did was markedly different. While 2020’s M&A landscape was characterized by whiplash volatility from choppy deal activity in the first half of […]