M&A dealmakers are navigating market turmoil on the heels of the recent tariff announcements. “A fundamental predicate for M&A is visibility on the playing field, at least in the near to medium term, and that doesn’t exist at the moment. That said, given the shifting sands since the initial tariff announcement, this could evolve very rapidly.” Areas where transactions might transpire include service-based businesses, said Ilan Nissan, head of private equity and M&A at Goodwin, to Octus. He added that at some point, there could be a decent number of take-private deals “given the shellacking in the public markets.” Some participants say the M&A picture that is forming so far this year has defied expectations they had at the start of the year.