Position now Forward-thinking leaders will take a holistic approach, makingnecessary Leaders are making Now short-term moves for stability and resilience while keeping opportunistic moves for stability and 14 growth plays on the radar, where possible. opportunistic growth Take immediate stock of the position the crisis places the company in and what M&A levers are A global energy company is needed. This includes reviewing your internal portfolio and ecosystem partners. Quickly identify conducting a portfolio review, critical risk points, including need for liquidity, struggling partners, or gaps in operations. Assess using a private equity lens to the spectrum of M&A, venture and alliance moves that could help alleviate these immediate determine what an activist challenges—including divestitures, alternative/diversification of alliances, consolidation to would do. maintain solvency, and potential hostile takeover defenses. A bulge-bracket private equity Make rapid prioritization calls on M&A activation, including the in-flight deal funnel. Decide what firm is reviewing multiple targets by sector for opportunities to buy should be put on pause, what should be shifted to a different timeline and what should stop. In distressed debt and drive March 2020, companies canceled four times the number of deals compared to the same month restructuring. the year before.13 For new moves such as divestitures, decide if seeking an exclusive arrangement is preferable to an auction. For alliances, define the most critical elements in the ecosystem to An alliance of hospitality groups address, and identify, potentially new, partners most able to solve these needs. created a worker pool to share with a supermarket chain to Evaluate opportunistic plays with long-term potential upside. Start with another look at the support the sudden spike in their investment strategy for in-flight and near-term deals. Evaluate opportunities to place bets on delivery business, offsetting a assets such as insolvent startup IP, talent acquisitions, and distressed tuck-ins. Since the flow of decline in lodging. these opportunities can come fast, having a clear idea of what is on strategy and what is not is A financial services firm is essential. If you are in a strong position, relative to your competition, consider tapping lines of evaluating the opportunity to buy credit or borrowing at low rates to increase available capital for investment. a digital start-up facing liquidity challenges. 8 COVID-19: Rebalance for resilience with M&A