At the end of 2019, global M&A was humming along, boosted by robust liquidity for companies in industries including healthcare and life sciences, banking and financial technology, food and food technology, and manufacturing and artificial intelligence. While much of the M&A market has cooled given the extraordinary circumstances imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, dealmaking in some areas, including life sciences and technology, has continued to see strong interest as private capital seeks to fund innovative companies helping to forge a new path forward for the world economy. From novel vaccines and treatments to technology and sciences that change the way we live, the urgency for innovation is at an all-time high even as Covid-19 challenges have interrupted every aspect of the dealmaking process from book to close.

How do dealmakers continue to find innovative companies and get capital to those entities that need it most? How are industries such as life sciences and healthcare responding to the pandemic and positioning themselves to not only weather the storm but flourish throughout it?  How are venture capital and private equity investors deploying their record-high cash reserves? What obstacles and risks are dealmakers faced with in the current environment, and how are they navigating through them? For current portfolio companies, how have the outlooks and valuation profiles been affected by the new normal of dealmaking?

Panel:

• • Steven L. Fasman (Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Catalent, Inc.)
  • Michael Greeley (Co-Founder and General Partner, Flare Capital Partners)
  • Daniel Haders (Managing Director, Digital Health, Nex Cubed)
  • Steve Gelsi (Senior Reporter, The Deal)