M&A Activity in 2010

M&A Activity Expected to Rise Significantly in 2010

Buyout activity appears to be increasing, pitting buyout firms against one another looking for potential investments.  Buyout firms are employing aggressive methods to buy targets before rivals do which is a welcome change from the last year's extremely low M&A activity.

Over the past six months, a thaw in credit markets and increased visibility over company earnings has triggered a rash of M&A activity. Private equity sellers have launched auctions, and buyers have returned to bid for targets last looked at before the credit crunch.
The total value of buyout deals in Europe alone so far this year is EUR9.08 billion, compared with just EUR3.7 billion, for the first three months of last year, according to Dealogic.
However, in their rush to secure deals, some buyout firms are splashing out exorbitantly and swiping companies out from under the noses of competitors already some way to clinching a deal.
"There is definitely a bit of a bubble," said Jennifer Dunstan, partner at 3i Group PLC (III.LN).
"Prices have stabilized and debt is trickling back, but there is a very limited supply of high-quality assets and some funds are looking to make deals very aggressively," she added.  Source

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Tags: M&A Activity, Mergers and Acquisitions, Mergers and Acquisitions 2010, 2010 M&A, Mergers and acquisitions funds, buyouts

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