M&A still fertile ground in 2008
M&A acivity will continue to be fertile ground for accounting firms in 2008 despite the downturn in mega deals
Although the era of the mega-deal is on hold, merger and acquisition activity
in 2008 will continue, dominated by corporate and foreign buyers and the middle
market, according to
PricewaterhouseCoopers’
transaction services group.
Bob Filek, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ transaction services group,
said the era of public-to-private transactions was on hold for now, but the
downturn in mega deals by private equity would be offset by an increase in
international buyers coming into the US to take advantage of a continued weaker
dollar.
‘We also believe that more traditional private equity transactions will build
momentum as 2008 progresses,’ he said. ‘We expect financial markets to quickly
respond to put liquidity back into more balanced leverage lending.’
Provided rates of troubled commercial bank loans held steady and the ‘credit
overhang work its way down’, Filek predicted savvy corporate buyers and a few
nimble private equity funds would take advantage of a lull in M&A activity
to lock down transactions.
Further reading:
Grant Thornton dominates post-merger boardroom
Where do users figure in M&A calculations?