Michael Schiffer, partner at Venable, participated in a video interview in conjunction with Nareit’s REITwise: 2023 Law, Accounting & Finance Conference held March 21-23 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Schiffer commented on likely M&A trends for the next year. He noted that valuations need to settle, while buyers and sellers must readjust their expectations of pricing in order for activity to occur.
As for important governance issues, Schiffer pointed to the need to understand core business risks.
“There’s becoming a greater expectation that boards and management have really evaluated what are the key risks for the business and then put procedures in place to make sure they are mitigating those risks and monitoring those risks and following up on them. I think that mindset is going to continue,” Schiffer said.
Meanwhile, Schiffer also stressed that boards need to be focused on overall shareholder relations. “Shareholder engagement is absolutely critical,” he said.