Latham Discusses the Future of Dealmaking with the Financial Times

Over 100 attendees joined Latham & Watkins at the Financial Times (FT) Future of Dealmaking Event in London. Hosted under Chatham House Rule, the half-day summit brought together corporate dealmakers and strategy leaders, private equity representatives, consultants, general counsels, and investment bankers for honest discussions regarding the opportunities and challenges for deal leaders in a prolonged period of uncertainty. 

Executive Committee member Martin Saywell took part in the keynote panel on the economic, business, and regulatory climate for deals, alongside Andrea Coscelli, CEO of the Competition and Markets Authority, Imogen Richards, partner and global head of investment structuring strategy in Pantheon’s Global Investment team, Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, and Scott Moeller, director and founder of the M&A Research Centre at Cass Business School. The session was moderated by FT EU correspondent and former private equity correspondent Javier Espinoza, and covered questions such as: Is the de-globalization of dealmaking set to continue? What will the future of global dealmaking look like in a period of protectionism and antitrust? Which sectors and regions will see the most activity in the year ahead? What potential mega-mergers may be in the cards for 2020? 

Latham hosted three roundtables at the event: partner Richard Butterwick led a session on tackling shareholder activism and how organizations respond to increased shareholder pressure; partner Robbie McLaren led a discussion on M&A and innovation, opportunities to fast-track innovation through the acquisition of technology, and how to predict and prepare for potential integration and security challenges; and counsel Sarah Gadd led a conversation on people and change and the key considerations before, during, and after a transaction. 

In these videos, Martin Saywell, Richard Butterwick, and Robbie McLaren discuss their key takeaways from the summit.