TSMP Law Corporation joint managing partner Stefanie Yuen Thio was quoted in a Business Times article on 04 May 2022 on M&A activity in the second half of the year

She noted that private equity funds continue to be active, but added that the industries they focus on could change in H2.

She said “During Covid, healthcare, tech and online commerce dominated everyone’s attention. Now that the world is coming out of the pandemic, I expect that there will be more interest in bricks and mortar businesses.”

She also said “Real estate is picking up, and the pent-up demand for travel, dining out and other experiential sectors will start to have those companies appearing on investors’ radar screens.”

Stefanie said that companies in “sunset sectors” may restructure or consolidate amid pandemic-induced changes in lifestyles and business operations.

She added that the number of distressed sales or bankruptcies could also rise, industry players said.

Such transactions are a “definite possibility” in the sunset industries, she said.