The interest of private equity investors in public companies has been on the rise over recent years. Public to private (“PTP”) is nothing new and has been around for many years with waves of activity levels.
2019 saw nearly half of takeovers as PTP deals, which was a record level. That trend continued into 2020 albeit at lower levels of deal activity as COVID-19 had a dampening impact on takeovers and M&A in general. The initial lost ground caused by COVID-19 quickly recovered, leading to a growth in market activity in 2021 with, for the first time ever, more PTPs in 2021 than trade led takeovers as share prices declined.
Whilst 2022 has seen a reversal, with more trade led takeovers than PTPs, we expect renewed interest from private equity as capital market values continue to fall and liquidity remains low.
We have undertaken detailed research into PTP deals and published a report looking at the trends and the drivers, providing insights from various conversations with private equity professionals and industry experts, how these transactions work, and our deal experience.