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Aspatore Books: Eric Fogel on Mergers & Acquisitions’ Outlook

5/20/2011

Recent Trends in M&A Activity

Here is the good news: merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is projected to be up 30 percent over 2010 levels. See, e.g., Deal Economy Forecast, THE DEAL, January 24, 2011, at 38; Anupreeta Das, Gina Chon, and Dana Cimilluca, Year-End Review of Markets and Finance 2010—M&A Began to Pick Up in ‘10—Wall Street Bankers, of Course, Expect Deal Making to Continue This Year, WALL STREET JOURNAL, January 3, 2011, at R8; M&A Set to Accelerate in 2011 After a Late November Surge, THE TRADING REPORT (December 1, 2010). Here is the bad news: the 30 percent figure is skewed because it consists of a number of very large transactions by strategic acquirers. In reality, despite all the talk of liquidity on the sidelines, M&A activity in the broader middle market ($100 million to $5 billion by market capitalization) continues to be sluggish, with deal participants being exceedingly careful not to overpay or make mistakes. Read more ...