Private Equity: Morrison & Foerster Expresses High Activity in Private Equity Market 

Marcia Ellis, partner and co-head of Asia private equity investments at Morrison & Foerster, analyzes the market in the region for private equity.  This is partly due to the control of the coronavirus when compared to other regions.  Ellis prefaces her analysis by stating that investors could be wary of financial regulatory policies.  These policies are prevalent in foreign markets and could affect investors’ exit environments.  Ellis states that there is a lot more activity among private equity investors.  This breaks first quarter trends, and even trends up to the beginning of July. 

One of the most popular sectors that investors are willing to invest in is the retail sector.  According to Bloomberg, the proportion of private equity investments outside of the United States has risen in the first half.  When it comes to buyouts, Ellis claims that they will mostly occur in mid-market companies rather than bulge brackets; however, this trend could change and favor bulge brackets further into the year.  

When it comes to analyzing permanent trends in private equity, Marcia Ellis states that there will be more investments in the internet data sector.  In an interview with Bloomberg, Ellis says “Real estate funds are pivoting to doing internet data centers and are pivoting to doing logistics, warehouses to support e-commerce businesses, and I think a lot of that is more permanent.”  Lastly, Marcia Ellis also believes that more private equity firms will start divesting in certain areas while sticking to their core businesses.  

More About Morrison & Foerster

Morrison & Foerster LLP is an international law firm headquartered in San Francisco.  The firm has a Private Funds Group recognized by fund sponsors and institutional investors.  The firm assists investors and funds in various strategies including buyouts, real estate and real asset, venture capital, and distressed debt.