Lawyer Monthly Magazine - September 2021 Edition

WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | SEP 2021 76 As we enter autumn and slowly emerge from the shadow that the COVID-19 pandemic cast over business, the M&A scene continues to develop in interesting ways. Some sectors, however, still have yet to bounce back in full. - Clyde & Co 1 released a report showing that M&A deals in the global insurance industry fell slightly during the first half of 2021. However, the Americas overcame the trend with 116 transactions in the first half, up from 102 in 2020 and reaching the highest level for the region since 2015. Europe was nearly unchanged with 51 deals, up one from 2020, though this number itself represents a precipitous decline from 2019. Other areas were hit much harder, with completed deals in the Asia-Pacific region falling from 37 to 18, while the Middle East saw only five transactions compared to its standout total of 32 during the same period last year. It is speculated that the Asia-Pacific decline is owed in large part to a rising regulatory bar in some high-traffic jurisdictions. In one of the more high-profile deals of the month, it was announced that Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is set to go public via a SPAC merger. The partner, NextGen Acquisition Corp II, values Virgin Orbit at around $3.2 billion. NextGen also revealed that the deal includes $100 million in funding from Boeing Co, AE Industrial Partners and others in the form of private investment in public equity, or PIPE. The combined company, which will list on the Nasdaq under “VORB” after the merger, is expected to gain $483 million in proceeds through the deal. British supermarket giant Morrisons also garnered attention this month on expectations of entering the FTSE 100 index. The company is currently at the centre of a $9.5 billion bidding war between US-based private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and a consortium led by SoftBank- owned Fortress Investment Group. Morrisons is now valued at about $9.6 billion, its share value having leapt by over 60% since CD&R issued its offer for the company in June. 1https:/ /www.clydeco.com/fr/about/news/2021/08/global-insurance-m-a-dips-in-first-half-of-2021 What’s Happening in theWorld of M&As and IPOs?