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Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

Private equity investors may be in for more of the waiting game if they are expecting GPs to be able to buy or sell companies. New data shows that M&A activity has slowed significantly following President Trump's so called 'Liberation Day' tariff policy announcements. Both buyers and sellers are waiting on the sidelines as markets try to understand what the ongoing impact of significantly higher tariffs will be.

There were 3,908 M&A deals announced by North American companies a decline of 12.44% from the first quarter, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Compared to the second quarter of 2024, transactions declined by 13.41%.

The slowdown is hitting some geographies more than others. In the Midwestern and Southern US, the number of PE deals inked in Q2 plummeted by 32% from the previous quarter, marking the steepest drop among all regions, according to data from PitchBook. Analysts say that these areas have a higher concentration of companies that are tariff sensitive and that it is having a chilling effect on potential deals.

If these conditions persist it will likely put a damper on the robust second half of their year private equity fund managers and their investors were hoping for.

Alongside the slowdown in deals, PitchBook analysts have observed a decline in credit quality for both business loans and consumer loans - data that could indicate broad market distress.

Despite these hea......................

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