With global equity markets reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, companies with cushy cash reserves looking to deploy dry powder are entering what could be one of the most lucrative acquisition opportunities in the last decade. Though activity in the mergers & acquisitions (M&A) space has been muted thus far, an extended downturn is likely to spark the interest of well-endowed asset managers and corporations seeking distressed assets in need of a bailout.

Such conditions have given rise to concerns regarding potential acquisitions by cash-flush Chinese entities. These fears have been significant enough to prompt the EU’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, to recommend that member-states directly purchase shares in vulnerable domestic tech companies operating in sensitive spaces such as telecoms and semiconductors.