The future of M&A and why founders are getting whiplash

Trends

The M&A landscape in 2023 has been unpredictable, with fewer deals than anticipated. Mary Azevedo and Alex Wilhelm discuss how the year started strong, especially in fintech, but did not maintain momentum. They speculate on the reasons behind this trend and what might change in the coming year 1. Mary notes that many startups struggling to raise capital may need to merge or fold 2.

I think it's getting to a point where a lot of startups that have had difficulty raising more capital but still have something there, are realizing, okay, either we're going to have to join forces with another company and try to make something better, combined or fold.

--- Mary Azevedo

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Acquisitions

Significant acquisitions have marked the M&A scene, such as Getir's purchase of FreshDirect. Alex Wilhelm finds this move intriguing, especially given FreshDirect's established presence in the US market 3. Mary Azevedo highlights the strategic nature of this acquisition for Getir, aiming to expand its footprint in the US 3.

I thought it was interesting that a Turkish delivery service would buy one that's based in New York. It's not something we typically hear about.

--- Mary Azevedo

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