Nick Wood
London
There is no doubt that the macroeconomic climate and geopolitical situation has tempered M&A appetitive over recent months, with Q3 2022 seeing the lowest deal activity across the sector since the rebound from the pandemic.
However, despite the headwinds, the AlixPartners Q3 2022 Industrials Quarterly M&A Review reveals that levels of global deal activity remained relatively steady across the usually quieter summer period. Compared to Q3 2019 (pre-COVID comparison) deal volume was down 2%, while total deal value was up 32%.
Therefore, while the market has certainly slowed from its boom in 2021, deal appetite remains, albeit at a much steadier pace. One area where transaction appetite persists is the continued reshaping of corporate portfolios to align with long term megatrends such as Industry 4.0 and the ongoing energy transition.
For example, the high growth energy storage sector – the subject of this edition’s Trendspot – continues to see investment levels well above pre-COVID levels. In our latest edition you can read (or watch below) an interview with Maxine Ghavi, Head of Hitachi Energy’s Grid Edge Solutions business, who shares her insight on the energy solutions market, her company’s revenue and growth opportunities, and why Hitachi Energy turned to AlixPartners to transform their operating model.
Additional authors: Michael Wabnitz, Dario Duse, Utsav Patel, Florian Stellner, and Shashanth Sivraman.