Private Equity Exits During COVID-19: What the 2008 Crisis Can Teach Us

By Abigail Court (Toronto) on April 30, 2020 Posted in Corporate finance, M&A

In a previous post, we discussed the impact of COVID-19 on private equity transactions and how companies can prepare for upcoming economic changes. While opportunities for new investment are on the horizon with private equity funds presently flush with cash, movement on existing investments is likely to slow as sellers wait until markets stabilize before … Continue reading

Summarizing the 2018 M&A Holdback Escrow Study

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on November 22, 2018 Posted in M&A

One of the common tools to mitigate transaction risk is a holdback escrow, where the buyer can retrieve funds in escrow if the seller fails to meet certain terms of the purchase agreement. There are numerous benefits to holdback escrows, such as broad claim coverage, publicly-available payout statistics to assist with cost estimation, and shared … Continue reading

Buyer beware: sell-side termination fees are on the rise

By Denise Gan (Toronto) on May 31, 2018 Posted in M&A

M&A transactions typically involve costly and time-intensive processes, and for this reason parties often seek to limit completion risk by negotiating a termination fee. Indeed, the recent 2018 SRS Acquiom Deal Terms Study reveals that the use of termination fees in private M&A transactions doubled in 2017. From 2012 to 2016, the use of termination … Continue reading