Dealmakers See M&A Targets in Tech When Slowdown Abates

Dealmakers who gathered in New Orleans this week are hopeful that the prolonged deals freeze will thaw this year—and that the tech sector in particular holds plenty of companies ripe for acquisition.

That may be a case of optimism transcending reality. On panels and in coffee chats at the annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute conference, attorneys and bankers in mergers and acquisitions fretted about the prolonged slowdown, which they pin on tight debt markets, falling valuations, antitrust threats—and now a banking crisis. And they can’t wait for things to change.