JV and Partnership Volume Continues Upward Trajectory

AUGUST 2023 – New JV and partnership activity has been on the ascent since 2021, and that trend continued into H1 2023. While global M&A deals took a record plunge in H1 2023, JV and partnership activity surged with deal volumes 40 percent higher than HI 2022. Green joint ventures and partnerships continued to dominate as companies came together to achieve scale and access complementary capabilities and innovation in green technologies.

Contingent deal terms – underutilized in JVs and partnerships outside pharma and biotech, but valuable in bypassing divergent assumptions about future performance or outcomes – made multiple appearances in the first half of 2023. Trending technologies, including generative AI and sustainable aviation fuel, attracted partnerships with Microsoft, United Airlines, and other companies. In H2 2023, watch for natural resource JV restructurings triggered by host country governments; a boost in US clean hydrogen partnerships encouraged by the H2Hub program; and changes in North American EV charging partnerships.