The deal market in 2024 is expected to recover from the challenges that the market faced in 2023. Inflation has decreased and may even be on the verge of declining the interest rates have remained stable (though they may not be back to pre-pandemic levels) Private credit is becoming more accessible to finance more types of deals and traditional equity markets have gained ground, and have reached record highs.

Deal-making will be hindered by a variety of reasons. The slowdown in M&A is mostly due to capital restrictions. In the wake of rising interest rates, they have changed the economic landscape and made it less appealing to invest in growth through acquisitions or new investments. This is particularly relevant for the US that accounts for a substantial portion of global deal values with two thirds of the top 100 deals of 2021 involving either an US company or http://thisdataroom.com/how-virtual-data-room-vdr-benefit-ma-deals an individual target.

A second issue is that the increased scrutiny of regulatory agencies is limiting M&A. Antitrust, national security and other concerns are increasing the scrutiny of larger deals and hindering consolidation opportunities. The trend is expected to continue until 2024.

Third, the emphasis on generative AI (GIA) will drive more capabilities-building M&A. Businesses that don’t have the resources or time frame to develop GIA capabilities through internal investment will turn to M&A to acquire them. The environmental governance, social and governance (ESG) agenda continues to gain momentum among CEOs. They are more likely to increase ESG initiatives through acquisitions of companies that can assist them in reaching their earnings, growth, and valuation goals.