M&A Disputes in 2026: It’s all about value

In an uncertain economic and political climate, market participants are more focussed than ever on extracting value from transactions and pushing the boundaries of risk allocation. This coincides with a rise in dealmaking required to support the infrastructure for emerging technologies (e.g. data centres) and the realignment of global capital flows.

In the face of these challenges and future uncertainties, post-closing disputes are becoming an increasingly common feature of M&A transactions.

Leading figures from the disputes community and beyond, representing a range of perspectives, will address a number of key topics including:

1. Warranty and Indemnity claims: How should these claims be valued? What benefits (and risks) do W&I insurance policies (and claims under them) give rise to?

2. Earn outs: As markets become more unpredictable, how can we reliably value a Target’s future performance? How should that mechanism be reflected in an SPA to minimise the risk of disputes?

3. Completion Accounts: How can these price adjustment mechanisms help parties to manage valuation risk? What disputes arise in that context and what steps can parties take to resolve these efficiently?

A practical and timely discussion that will be of interests to dealmakers, disputes practitioners, insurers and beyond.