The Wall Street Journal: Cash-Laden Companies Are on a Mergers and Acquisitions Spree
July 3, 2021
The Wall Street Journal quoted O’Melveny partner Noah Kornblith in an article exploring the surge in merger and acquisition deals involving US companies during the first half of 2021. Total deal value hit a remarkable $1.74 trillion during the period, compared with $511.79 billion in the first half of 2020 and $1.28 trillion in the first half of 2019. The report observed that the pandemic’s impact on consumer behavior and market patterns led many businesses to retool, fueling the exponential spurt in M&A.
WSJ raised the question of whether rising interest rates could slow the pace of deal activity. “You still have a lot of runway for this cycle that we are in,” Kornblith said, given the Federal Reserve’s indications that a rise may not come until late 2023.
WSJ subscribers can read the full article here.