ANALYSIS: Q1 Cross–Border M&A Saw Steep Drop in Deal Volume

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we’ve seen parties delaying and pulling deals. Top deal lawyers are also predicting there may be somewhat of a slowdown in M&A activity this year from last year’s historic level due to the compounding of various headwinds.

Despite these developments, M&A overall returned pretty solid results in the first quarter of 2022. One exception—and a trend to keep an eye on—is cross–border deals, which saw the steepest Q4–to–Q1 drop in volume in at least 15 years.

A Farther Distance to Fall

A total of 9,558 M&A transactions, with an aggregate value ...