More deals – good for business
Jinfo Blog

5th January 2010

By Michele Bate

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According to the UK’s Sunday Times newspaper, corporate financiers are predicting a resurgence of deals in 2010. (See http://digbig.com/5bawqy). Senior bankers believe that there is a return in confidence among chief executives together with a rising appetite for lending by banks. This in turn should have a positive impact on deal activity. Anthony Parsons, head of the UK mergers and acquisitions team at Deutsche Bank, thinks that the M&A market will be dominated by the three big sectors: financial institutions, natural resources and consumer. Consolidation in the aerospace sector is also expected to continue. The Sunday Times listed several major companies that it predicts could be the top takeover targets in 2010. Financiers also anticipate an increased role for private equity this year after a long period during which bank debt all but disappeared. The first quarter of 2010 is likely to be dominated by companies floating rather than takeovers, as a number of private-equity owned companies are seeking listings. But some of these companies could be sold rather than floated if the right offer can be found. The optimism is not confined to Europe. In an article entitled “Global M&A May Have Hit Bottom”, The Wall Street Journal reported that although global M&A activity was down 22% last year compared with 2008, 2009 ended on a strong note. Fourth quarter deal volume was particularly high in the United States. One expert predicted that some of the deals in late 2009 such as leveraged buyouts will give other companies the confidence to act. (See http://digbig.com/5bawrn). For those of us who conduct due diligence research, this will hopefully translate into more business. It should also provide more work for information professionals in the beleaguered banking community, as well as having a knock on effect on ancillary business services such as the lawyers and accountants that support such deals.

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