Morning all, Craig McGlashan here with the Europe Wire from the London newsroom.
I hope everyone who was off during one of the European holidays over the last few days had a good rest. I was in Bruges enjoying its many medieval buildings, several canals and just a few of its famous beers.
On a canal tour, our guide pointed out some buildings with faux windows, an architectural quirk stemming from an old tax that put a levy on any glass in a building that let in sunlight.
This morning, though, we’re looking at the impact of levies on a much newer technology, as we hear from Houlihan Lokey’s Sascha Pfeifferabout the impact of US tariffs on software M&A. While one might expect software to be a relative winner, given tariffs have so far focused on goods rather than services, the picture is more complex, with winners and losers and some parts of the dealmaking process affected.
We then have an exit to report, as Verdane agrees to sell a company in the maritime data collection and analysis sector.
Software landing
The software sector might be a ray of light for private equity dealmakers amid the uncertainty and volatility caused by the US administration’s imposition of trade tariffs, which have so far focused mainly on goods rather than services.
I spoke to Sascha Pfeiffer, managing director and global head of technology at investment bank Houlihan Lokey, about the impact of tariffs on software M&A so far, as well as which sub-sectors will be winners and losers.
Read all of his views, including on how the adoption of generative AI is affecting software dealmaking, in the premium version of the Wire.
Sailing off
Verdane has agreed to sell Danelec, a provider of advanced digital products for maritime data collection and analysis designed to enhance operational performance, safety and decarbonization.
Find out the valuation, buyer and the company's revenue and EBITDA margin in the premium version of the Wire.
Right, that’s all from me today. Michael Schoeck is on US duty later today and I’ll be back in the Europe chair tomorrow.
Cheers,
Craig
Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...
