FWPODCAST: Private Capital & Cross-Border Transactions with KPMG's Jonathan Read and Gavin Combe

{ "articleTitle": "KPMG Partners Discuss Geopolitics and Private Credit in M&A Landscape", "articleDescription": "Jonathan Read and Gavin Combe of KPMG outline how geopolitical alignment, artificial intelligence, and private credit are reshaping cross-border transactions and investment valuations.", "articleBody": "

Geopolitical Alignment as a Transaction Prerequisite

\n\nCross-border deals are increasingly defined by factors extending beyond traditional financial metrics. According to Gavin Combe, a partner at KPMG in the UK, the landscape for large, complex cross-border transactions and joint ventures is shaped by geopolitical dynamics, stakeholder alignment, supply chain security, cultural integration, emerging technology opportunities, and differing corporate risk appetites across regions.\n\nCombe emphasized that political considerations often precede financial negotiations. \"Failure to secure political alignment can derail a transaction long before valuation ever becomes the issue,\" Combe said.\n\nCombe specializes in large, complex cross-border transactions and joint ventures. He has built KPMG’s joint venture team and leads Industrial Markets in Deal Advisory. His advisory work includes global clients in aerospace and defense, automotive, and manufacturing sectors, where he has helped reshape portfolios to focus on growth while divesting non-core assets.\n\n

Private Credit and AI Reshape Investment Focus

\n\nJonathan Read, who has led KPMG’s mid-market financial sponsor coverage team since 2016, stated that geopolitics and artificial intelligence are actively reshaping investment focus and valuations. Read noted that investors are currently prioritizing resilient, data-led assets and operational value creation.\n\nThis shift in investor preference is occurring amid tighter liquidity conditions and tougher fundraising environments. In response to these market constraints, Read observed that co-investments, private credit, and specialist fund strategies are rising within the deal ecosystem.\n\nRead highlighted the specific role of debt financing in the current climate. \"Private credit has become a critical enabler of M&A in constrained markets,\" Read said.\n\nRead’s work involves advising mergers and acquisitions teams, founders, and management on deal origination, investor appetite, and market insight. He works with private equity firms, family offices, venture capital funds, and sovereign wealth funds across all sectors. Since 2016, he has met over 500 global sponsors.