December 22, 2021 | Rodrigo Alonso Cruz
Brazil and Mexico will lead dealmaking in 2022, yet only so much as high inflation and political uncertainty abate investor appetite for acquisitions.
Latin American M&A activity is expected be strong in 2022, driven by deals in Brazil and Mexico, even as political tension and inflation run high, experts say.
In Brazil, the region’s biggest economy, activity could reach $80 billion in 2022, says Roderick Greenlees, head of investment banking at Itaú BBA in São Paulo. That would be down from $90 billion in 2021, largely as the country’s looming general elections in October 2022 and high inflation dull the appetite for deals, he says.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former two-term leftist president, is a potential contender to dethrone right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, raising concerns about the economy’s pace of recovery from a 4.1% co