Q: Barry Schwartz is very bullish and calling for a record M&A year for CSU due to less PE competition. He’s buying the dip—do you think we should too?
5i Research Answer:
We are not 100% convinced that the AI-software scare has run its course, but we would still be fine slowly accumulating CSU on dips. Certainly new valuations could help its M&A strategy. Private equity also tends to have a 'herd' mentality and could just collectively sit out software for a while, and this would also help CSU's acquisition strategy .