Changing Consumer Behavior and Dealmaking via Zoom: Day 1 of M&A East 2020
October 29, 2020
This article was originally published by Middle Market Growth
Although many industries have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, private equity investors continue to identify resilient businesses and move deals forward via Zoom, according to the first day of sessions at the virtual M&A East 2020 conference, hosted by ACG Philadelphia.
Pet products and services, now a $90 billion industry, is among the industries to draw investor interest as consumers remain in situ, according to Pat Sugrue, a partner at NewSpring Capital, one of the panelists who spoke Tuesday during the “Post-COVID Consumer Behavior – Paradigm Shifts vs. Normalization” session on the first day of M&A East.
Pet care businesses have fared well in 2020, and they’re likely to continue thriving after the pandemic, Sugrue added. “When we go back to work, we have to find ways to keep Rover busy.”
Another promising area the panelists identified is in the restaurant and grocery space, where services like contactless delivery have helped many food providers survive. What’s more, there could be a glut of real estate available to food services businesses once the pandemic ends, paving the way for easy expansion. “Demand [for restaurants] won’t decline, it will return,” Sugrue said.