Germany’s election results in the end of February went as expected, with the conservative CDU party and its sister party CSU coming out on top. Now the incoming government is working on its coalition talks with the middle left party, the SPD, and they’re expected to implement business-friendly measures in the country, especially related to energy and infrastructure.

However, the US withdrawing military aid to Ukraine and increasing tariffs on other countries is sparking uncertainty in the greater European business world. Both Germany and greater Europe’s commitment to increased defense spending will likely lead to more intra-European and intra-German defense M&A.

However, Germany also has a trade surplus with the US of around USD 70bn and could look toward cross-border M&A with US companies as global trade with America stands on unstable ground.

Aurelia Seidlhofer, Mergermarket’s Munich-based senior reporter joins Dealcast host Julie-Anna Needham to discuss the outlook for dealmaking in Germany and Europe as a whole, including:

• How US policies could push European M&A and potentially create pan-European champions
• How CDU campaign points like lowering energy prices and investing in infrastructure could boost dealmaking in Germany
• Why German companies may look at buying US companies, while Germany and Europe at large may simultaneously become more critical of US investments at home
• Which deals are in the pipeline and could be affected by politics, such as TenneT Germany

All this and more in this week’s Dealcast.