This article was originally published in Law360 on April 14, 2025, and is republished here with permission.

In the best of times, mergers and acquisitions are inherently complex. When uncertain global conditions such as financing hurdles, high inflation, unfavorable interest rates and geopolitical conflicts are added to the mix, the challenges that hinder M&A activity only increase.

Due to these challenges, the U.S. entered 2025 with its slowest M&A period in over two decades. According to recent article published by Reuters,[1] citing data published by Dealogic, there were just 1,172 deals worth $226.8 billion in January and February, which is down a third from last year.