Baker McKenzie M&A Partner, Bill Rowe, spoke to Bloomberg Law about the consequences of the growing trade war on the global deals market.
As the global trade war escalates and retaliatory tariffs go into effect, the uncertainty that it is creating is weighing down a deals market that was expected to pick up under the new US Presidential Administration. Without knowing where, when or for how long US tariffs will be in place, it is hard to set valuations for potential targets. As a result, companies are abandoning deals or holding out on acquisitions until they can understand the full financial impact of the new tariff regime.
Bill says that the effects of tariffs on M&A volumes are just starting to be seen and that we need to wait to “see what happens in the first quarter, second quarter, then third quarter.” He points out that things are more complex than in the past because, when you look at buying an international supply chain, “you might not need one [tariff] exception, you might need four,” depending on how the global network of tariffs and response tariffs settles.
Read the full article on Bloomberg Law.
