Global M&A guide edited by Sullivan & Cromwell dealmaker Frank Aquila launches today
Law Over Borders Comparative Guide: Global M&A Law Guide
Global M&A Law Guide
Chapters in this guide
43
The Global Legal Post today launches the inaugural edition of the Law Over Borders Global M&A guide, edited by Sullivan & Cromwell’s senior M&A partner, Frank Aquila.
The guide provides a structured, jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction analysis of the principal legal frameworks governing M&A alongside a series of essays that draw readers’ attention to key market trends and legal and regulatory developments.
Written by leading lawyers in their respective markets, the guide covers 34 jurisdictions, shedding light on a dynamic yet increasingly complex M&A landscape shaped by heightened regulatory scrutiny, geopolitical tensions, technological change, and the influence of private capital.
Aquila and assistant editor, associate Julia Sichun Liu, note in their introduction that a strong revival in global deals in 2025 was driven by a resurgence of large-cap and public-to-private deals with boards and investors “increasingly pursuing transactions that deliver scale, technological capability, supply chain resilience or portfolio repositioning”.
They add: “A defining feature of this cycle is the systemic scale of private capital, which has become embedded in the architecture of modern dealmaking. Private equity sponsors, sovereign wealth funds, private credit platforms and large family offices now operate as structural pillars of the global M&A market.”
They argue that this has “reshaped transaction technique and expectation” while, at the same time, geopolitics has “shifted from background consideration to the forefront of transaction planning”.
The online and PDF versions of the guide are available today while the print version will be launched at an invitation-only roundtable hosted by Aquila at Sullivan & Cromwell’s New York headquarters on 2 June. It will bring together leading M&A lawyers from across the world ahead of the International Bar Association's 23rd Annual Mergers & Acquisitions Conference, which takes place from 3-4 June and where GLP will be promoting the guide as a sponsor.
As Aquila and Liu note, despite common structural forces, “M&A law remains inherently jurisdiction-specific”. They add: “Regulatory thresholds, minority approval mechanisms, disclosure standards and litigation risk vary materially across jurisdictions. While convergence is visible in transaction techniques, divergence persists in public law architecture.”
Click here to read the online guide and here to download the PDF.