Benjamin, so lovely to see you here.
I want to talk to you about something that is
as prominent as AI right now in Davos: M&A. What's your take?
So super happy to be with you as well, Vaishali.
So look, I would say that the market is overall on
the positive trajectory.
So first, it started to grow again in '24 on the
back of a very low '23.
And the momentum that we see today is rather good,
driven by much stronger fundamentals on the M&A market.
So as we speak, the level of activity that we see is an
ongoing process. Exit preparations is very high.
And the general feeling is about optimism or cautious optimism.
It depends a bit on the country.
We just publish an M& A sentiment index,
and we see a high level of confidence from North American players,
a bit lower in Europe.
But overall, I would say that we are on a positive
momentum. And in that, tech is taking the lion's share,
Vaishali. It has grown fast last year in value,
M&A did in value. And I would say that digitization, AI,
GenAI, green transformation, we are the main driver of that.
So a positive trajectory. And Vaishali, one question that I have on tech M&
A beyond what I just said, what is driving that fundamentally for you?
First of all, I think there is adjusted expectations on
valuations versus say in '22.
And I think that is a clear reset.
I think companies are seeing this as an opportunity to really acquire
capabilities or to really double down on growth in key areas.
And this is really a way to turbocharge it
and despite the geopolitical uncertainty. And I would say the last thing that I see
here is "platformization."
I think this trend is going to continue.
And so, you know, the desire to consolidate will keep growing.
And of course, another trend, which is the private equity side does
want to see some liquidity as well.
So I guess that's also fueling some of that.
That's exactly the point.
In fact, extending holding period, and mismatch of expectations for
valuation between sell side and buy side, have been the major challenges
experienced by the GPs in the past years.
So now the good news is that we start to see a better match.
And furthermore, GPs have worked extensively to really try
to, let's say, generate operational value creation on
plenty of topics, as they started with cost takeout of
transformation to fund new growth avenues,
and now there is a general feeling that more assets are ready for the investment.
And one thing that I wonder—so on the tech business and particularly on the
corporate M&A side, what is your view on how do companies
ensure successful integrations?
Acquiring is only the first step.
But even that I think requires a systematic and a proactive approach.
Too often I find if you're just reacting versus really stepping back and seeing
what is the strategic agenda and what would be the best fit and really working
towards that—that I think is the first step.
And then of course, integration. I mean, the normal stuff we talk about—robust
planning, taking a transformation lens not just a
synergy lens, and really thinking about how the asset
will fundamentally change long-term trajectory—
these are all key points.
And I think the ones that really pay attention to this together with culture
and talent—which in tech, as you know, is pretty mobile—I think makes a real difference.
So, well, I share your cautious optimism, or shall I say optimism,
as we see how 2025 will shape up.
Thank you very much, Vaishali. It was a pleasure.
Same here.