The Deal Talks to Kimberly Smith about Deal Making During COVID-19

Katten co-chair of Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity, Kimberly Smith, was quoted in The Deal about the status of private equity deal-making during the COVID-19 crisis. In a recent survey by EisnerAmper LLP, 51 percent of respondents reported that they did not expect GDP growth to return to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic until the third quarter of 2021 or later.

“We’re not seeing new starts of sales processes — it’s more a continuation of dialogues that began pre-corona crisis. New starts to the pipeline have really stalled,” Kimberly said.

As the pandemic continues to affect and slow down deal-making in public equities and other financial markets, including in less common areas of private markets such as secondary PE fund stakes, there is still some optimism and opportunities in other industries, such as industrial and manufacturing, business and healthcare.