2021 Mergers and Acquisitions Outlook Survey

The results of Dykema's annual Mergers & Acquisitions Outlook Survey are in! This survey tracks the marketplace to gauge the direction of the M&A market and economy for the coming year.

As with previous installments of the survey, our firm canvassed senior executives and advisors in the M&A space to ask them to share their observations and insights on how the U.S. economy, political environment, and emerging trends will impact the M&A market in the year to come. Even with COVID-19 continuing to influence how business is done and a new presidential administration at the helm, respondents to this year’s survey expressed a resounding level of optimism. 

“For us, the optimism comes as no surprise,” said Thomas Vaughn, co-leader of Dykema’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice. “The top three factors cited as fueling current M&A activity – availability of capital, financial markets and general economic conditions – support the notion that all the fundamentals needed for a bull market are there. All of this coincides with recent data showing this year’s M&A activity is on pace to be the biggest in history.”

When asked about leading concerns regarding M&A in the next year, respondents said the pandemic still ranks as a top challenge, with the Biden administration’s tax policy following.

“This might stem from ongoing supply chain and labor shortage issues associated with the pandemic as well as the general, but persistent, uncertainty it brings,” said Jeff Gifford, leader of Dykema’s Corporate Finance practice group. “That said, now even after the surge in cases, dealmakers have learned how to manage COVID-19-related uncertainties, with respondents ranking COVID-19-related delays sixth in order of the most common obstacles they experienced in dealmaking last year.”

On November 16, 2021, Dykema held a virtual preview of its annual "State of the M&A Market" analysis.