The current political and economic situation have severely impacted the private equity market, which has already started to slow down over the last two years, Jan Schinköth, partner and chair of law firm Goodwin’s Munich office, told PE Hub. “Deal activity is only going to slow down further in the months ahead, and we don’t expect activity levels to rise again significantly this year,” Schinköth said. Deals with international elements have largely ground to a standstill, especially where tariffs or FX risks are at play, Arvin Abraham, partner in Goodwin’s Private Equity group, told PE Hub. “We’ve gone from an environment where most of the market was expecting a healthy year for M&A to one where expectations are lackluster.” “Unless there is an ongoing process in motion or a particularly attractive target, sponsors that are not required to deploy capital at the moment are mostly staying put,” Schinköth said. Market participants are defaulting to caution, both agreed.