ANALYSIS: Where Are All the M&A Deal Terminations?

Deals are born, and deals die. Deal terminations—which take place after a definitive agreement has been entered into by the parties—are a natural part of the mergers and acquisitions ecosystem. With the new coronavirus market rout causing companies’ stock prices to drop, one might have expected deal terminations to be on the rise. But that isn’t what we are seeing…yet.

While a faltering market might normally cause deal failures, the data do not show that trend at this point. Thus far, March deal terminations are about one-half to one-third of prior years. Are parties putting their deals on hold? ...