Winston & Strawn sponsored The Deal Economy Conference 2022: Predictions and Perspectives, powered by IMN. The conference focused on addressing the following topics:
- How are supply chain, inflation, and labor shortages impacting the ability to value and close deals?
- How will the SPAC market evolve as successful players rise to the top?
- What type of deal structures and financing options are favorable in the current market conditions?
- Will we see the return of the mega-deal?
Jason Osborn moderated a panel titled “SPACs: Will the Boom Fizzle in a More Challenging Environment?” Key takeaways and considerations from this panel include:
- In an evolving regulatory, financial, and legal landscape will SPACs continue to show resilience?
- Investors shift focus to the quality, path, and valuation of the target company, along with the credibility of the SPAC
- How are seasoned SPAC sponsors getting more creative with deal structures?
- Will de-SPAC deals continue to fuel the M&A market?
- How PIPE investors becoming more selective and focusing on quality and diligence impacted the market
- Recent new SEC regulations and their impact on the future of SPACs
Brad Vaiana moderated a panel titled “Private Equity: Adapting to an Increasingly Competitive Environment.” Key takeaways and considerations from this panel include:
- How have PE firms adapted to a market where increased competition, speed, certainty, and sky-high valuations are the new normal
- How are private equity investors using partnerships, co-investing, and structured equity investments to remain flexible and creative?
- Strategy trends: Using longer-term flexibility, buy-and-build, earnouts, and “no indemnity” deals
- Exploring the pressure points that are moving forward, or holding back the industry as a whole
- How have investor expectations changed? Are LP concerns around ESG shaping investment strategies?
- Are LP’s investment decisions impacted by the PE firms’ own internal ESG initiatives?
- Will PE look for opportunities in public-to-private transactions?
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