Deals
UBS’s Grafstein Says M&A Being Spurred by Slow Economic Growth
- Companies look to dealmaking as method of expansion: Grafstein
- Activists have become permanent feature of M&A, dealmaker says
This article is for subscribers only.
Deal activity in the U.S., while down from last year, still has tailwinds as companies seek ways to expand amid sluggish economic growth, said Larry Grafstein, UBS Group AG’s co-head of mergers and acquisitions in the Americas.
“What’s paradoxical about this M&A cycle and makes it different than the ones I’ve seen over the course of my career is that it’s driven, in a way, by lack of confidence,” Grafstein said Monday on Bloomberg TV. “If you don’t have the secular tailwinds of high growth and you have a relatively strong stock market as we’re seeing even today, the question becomes how to grow into your valuation.”