Good morning, Dealmakers.
MK Flynn here in New York with a special edition of the US Wire.
The first two weeks of April have seen public markets act as an increasingly volatile referendum on every policy gyration coming from the White House. Today, for example, we’ll be watching how the stock markets react to the various weekend messages about exemptions on tariffs for electronics.
The up-and-down tariff moves underscore the uncertainty and volatility facing private equity firms and their investors globally this year. Private equity professionals may not face daily repricing. Still, they can hardly afford to avoid thinking through how geopolitical events such as tariffs and trade tensions will impact their own businesses.
Our editorial teams from Buyouts, PE Hub and Private Equity International have been contacting a broad range of thought leaders from the industry to get their insights on the situation, both on the record and on background. A wait-and-see attitude predominated. Some argued that public market dislocation and the uncertainty caused by the tariff turmoil would be a boon for private markets.
How long can PE afford to fence-sit in periods of turmoil? What actions have industry leaders taking in the meantime? What’s the outlook for dealmaking and fundraising?
For answers from a broad range of PE pros, premium subscribers to PE Hub can read the full report.
Here on the Wire, I’ve highlighted a few reactions from dealmakers, Apollo’s David Sambur, Hamilton Lane’s Richard Hope and Sperry, Mitchell’s Beatrice Mitchell.
How has tariff uncertainty affected dealmaking?
David Sambur, co-head of equity, Apollo Global Management: “We see this as an emerging buying opportunity across various asset classes given the dislocation across equity and debt.”
Richard Hope, co-head EMEA/co-head investments, Hamilton Lane: “We are seeing fewer who are willing to buy or sell a business in this environment, though there are still deals happening. For those in the midst of a sale process, they are either hoping to close shortly or figuring out if they should still be buying the assets. While this is elongating the overall process, it is not stopping it entirely.”
Beatrice Mitchell, co-founder and MD, investment bank Sperry, Mitchell & Co: “So far, all our deals that are either in process or scheduled to close are on track. None of them have been derailed or harmed by the tariff imbroglio. Buyer interest in small to mid-sized private companies remains high and there remain unprecedented amounts of capital available for acquisitions.”
Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire for more insights on the impact of tariff uncertainty on dealmaking, fundraising and secondaries.
As I mentioned, this was a special project from several PEI Group titles. Contributing to the report were: Rafael Canton, Helen de Beer, Kirk Falconer, Madeleine Farman, John R Fischer, Mary Kathleen Flynn, Katrina Lau, Adam Le, Alex Lynn, Carmela Mendoza, Michael Schoeck, Chris Witkowsky and Hannah Zhang.
If you’ve got thoughts to share on how volatility is affecting your dealmaking activities, I’d love to hear from you. Email me at [email protected].
Coming up tomorrow, Irien Joseph will bring you the Europe edition of the Wire, and Michael Schoeck will bring us the US edition.
Cheers,
MK
Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...
