As 2022 ends, MSPs are assembling their plans for 2023. The plans that work will tap into trends that are developing over the next 12 months. What are they? Here are five major trends that will shape the MSP market in 2023.

Direct lenders to private equity-backed middle-market companies are concerned about increased risk from rising interest rates, inflationary pressures and a potential recession. But they’re also enjoying healthy returns in part due to their larger peers moving out of the middle market.

A report from DeVoe & Co. shows dramatic drop-off in fourth-quarter deals, but the biggest buyers say they are as busy as ever.

Consideration of both pre- and post-closing deal requirements creates a more holistic client experience. While M&A advisors (and their clients) may not be thinking about closing mechanics and post-closing matters now, doing so can help drive efficiencies, ensure a smoother close, and remove added work and headaches later in the deal process.

A look ahead to the key strategic trends expected to impact the overall M&A environment and some key sectors.

Australian small-cap software companies have been severely oversold and as a result have been swarmed on in a flurry of M&A deals during October, with few signs that these deals will slow down with more likely in the pipeline.

Wall Street major Morgan Stanley (MS.N) is expected to start a fresh round of layoffs globally in the coming weeks, three people with knowledge of the plan said, as dealmaking business takes a hit due to rising inflation and an economic downturn.

Getting an understanding of whether 2022 healthcare merger and acquisition activity has slowed, is slowing, is leveling out, or is actually on the rise depends on what data, trends, and market information you are analyzing.

In a region suffering from global trade dislocations, inflation, higher interest rates and complex political cycles, dealmakers remain cautiously optimistic that the transition to digital services across the region will create significant M&A opportunities in the technology sector. 

David Gross-Loh, managing director of private equity at Bain Capital, discusses the firm's investments in Japan, and the opportunities he sees in other Asian markets. Bain Capital-led group succeeded in its tender offer for Hitachi Metals Ltd., a unit of the Japanese conglomerate. Gross-Loh speaks with Haidi Stroud-Watts and Kathleen Hays on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia.

The combined effects of economic and geopolitical crises are driving “virtually unprecedented levels of complexity” in the business environment for insurers and reinsurers, according to Munich Re.

After an extraordinarily busy year in merger and acquisition activity in 2021, the Business Courier held a forum featuring experts in that space who assessed the current environment for deals and looked ahead to what might be next given the current economic conditions.

US mergers and acquisitions are poised to slide for the sixth straight quarter, to depths last seen at the onset of the pandemic, as a darkening outlook for deal-financing complicates an already bruising backdrop for the industry.

When there is unpredictability in the air, risk allocation is the name of the game when it comes to negotiating M&A transactions. While the market for M&A has been record-breaking on most accounts in recent years, geopolitical turmoil, increased inflation, the stock market turning bearish, and rising regulatory enforcement all contribute to an atmosphere of growing uncertainty.

After soaring to an all-time peak in 2021, the global M&A market has hit the pause button. Early 2022 saw the value of large deals (more than $25 million) fall 24 percent from a year earlier, on a 12 percent drop in deal volume.

The plummeting value of sterling means that “everything in the UK is on sale”, according to a top executive at US private markets giant Ares Management.

Twitter is the most high-profile acquisition on the rocks right now. While the primary reason Musk has cited for backing away from the deal is his allegation that the social media platform is infected with bots that impact fake news and, ultimately, the company’s valuation, he has pointed to diversity concerns.

"There is a lot [of deal activity] in progress right now," said attorney Aly Simons, a partner and co-chair of the tech M&A practice at Goodwin. She said merger talks were nearly non-existent in the summer, but it all changed around Labor Day.

Last quarter’s mergers and acquisitions market results illustrate that heightened uncertainty continues to hinder M&A activity. Q3 saw a notable dip in global M&A volume compared to recent quarters, and no market segment was immune to the fall.