As the first quarter of 2020 wore on, no sector was able to avoid the declining appetite for deals caused by the expanding coronavirus outbreak. However, activity in select industries may be primed to rebound as struggling businesses look to sell and cash-rich buyers swoop in.

The novel coronavirus outbreak slowed dealmaking throughout the world at staggered times during the first quarter, abruptly ending a strong start to 2020 across several regions.

The spread of COVID-19 has jarred financial markets, pushed valuations lower, and, at times, capsized pending deals. The crisis is creating more opportunities for strategic investors and financial buyers on the hunt for distressed assets and those willing to stomach some uncertainty.

Supportive business reforms, private equity-led buying in the mid-cap sector, and a year-ending mega deal ensured the French M&A market remained buoyant in 2019, with 2020 predicted to remain strong.

2019 saw a raft of high-profile mega mergers in the United States, and around the world. With a U.S. election looming in late 2020 and demand for transformative growth high on the list for CEOs, further deals are likely in the first half of the year.

Interest in long-term infrastructure and real assets is set to continue in 2020, led by outbound flows from China into Europe, and a clamor for energy business in the United States.

Investors are seeing a potential downturn in the M&A market on the horizon, which could tip a number of previously secure companies into the distressed bracket and create investment opportunities for financial sponsors and strategic buyers.

Data centers and Fintech continue to remain appealing for technology funds in both regions as corporates continue looking to acquire technology businesses in an effort to modernize their operations.

Deal activity plunged in the first quarter of 2020 on U.S.-China tensions and the coronavirus outbreak, but Hogan Lovells Corporate partner Liang Xu believes the pieces are falling into place for Chinese buyers and sellers to rebound once the health outlook and the markets stabilize.

There were a significant number of hostile M&A bids in 2019. Hogan Lovells Partner Joseph Gilligan provides his view on this activity and what we may see in 2020.

Akrevia is a biopharmaceutical company operating at the vanguard of tumor-targeted immuno-oncology therapeutics. Chief Operating Officer Joseph Farmer provides his views on deal activity in one of the most active sectors in the M&A market.

Hogan Lovells Partner Matthias Jaletzke shares his insights on cross-border private equity activity.

Hogan Lovells Partner, Asher Rubin, tells Deal Dynamics about the key forces behind M&A in the pharmaceutical, medical, and biotech sectors.

Hogan Lovells Partner, Peter Watts, discusses how intense innovation, diverse deal structures, and political protectionism are changing the face of M&A in the technology, media, and telecoms space.

Hogan Lovells Partner, Sarah Shaw, tells Deal Dynamics how shale, renewables and private equity are transforming the deal landscape in the energy and natural resources sector.

Fortune 200 PPG operates in 70 countries, employs around 47,000 globally and is no stranger to the M&A market. Joe Gette, Assistant General Counsel M&A and Securities, discusses the dynamics of dealmaking in the industrials sector.