M&A in Krisenzeiten: Wie wirkt sich die COVID-19 Pandemie auf die Unternehmen und die M&A-Aktivität in Deutschland und der Schweiz aus? Mergers and Acquisitions in times of crisis: How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting companies and M&A activity in Germany and Switzerland?

The COVID-19 crisis in 2020 shook the whole world with an enormous impact on the global economy and every belonging area. Mergers and Acquisitions are an integral part of the corporate management used by companies to generate growth from outside the company. Even though mergers and acquisitions are likely to support company’s growth, it carries risks which can enhance in times of crisis. This scientific term paper aims to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on companies and their mergers and acquisitions. Using interviews with representatives from companies from different branches, the results show that the impact on the mergers and acquisitions activities have been marginal. Companies were able to handle negative impacts from the COVID-19 crisis due to different indicators of crisis resistance. As a result of this research, it proves that mergers and acquisitions do not react causally to business operations due to middle- to long-term orientation. According to experts, the COVID19 crisis did not carry negative impacts only. The crisis showed companies their grievances in digitalization and led to the implementation of more flexible forms of work. The results of this research are useful for companies to benchmark their level of crisis resistance in terms of further crisis