Acquisitions Monthly articles from January 2009

Acquisitions Monthly archives from January 2009

Mid-markets offer mild respite.(EDITORIAL)
January 1, 2009... During an M&A downturn the classic retreat for advisers is the mid-markets. Appropriately therefore, Acquisitions Monthly's first issue of 2009 is devoted to this resolutely vibrant area. However, it remains to be seen whether the mid-markets...

Looking ahead at European M&A: we asked a selection of mid-market financial advisers to look into their crystal ball and provide a prediction on the year ahead in M&A--picking out sectors, countries or companies that may see the most activity.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)(Company overview)
January 1, 2009... Although I am not expecting a bumper year for transactions in 2009, I do expect an increased flow of transactions in a difficult economic environment. The market has favoured buyers more than sellers for some time and 2009 will unfortunately...

Milanese welcome for mid-market forum.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This year's speed-dating jamboree for M&A professionals, the Mid Market Forum held in Milan in November, attracted the highest ever number of attendees from more than 40 countries worldwide, all anxious to get to...

Global M&A down 31%: European target activity was down 29% in 2008; Americas down 36%; and Asia-Pacific down 12%, according to preliminary M&A data accurate as of December 19. The final full-year figures will be analysed in the next issue of Acquisitions Monthly.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2009... Global M&A activity in 2008 had reached US$2,884bn by December 19, down 31% from the full year 2007 figure (US$4,178bn), and marking the lowest annual volume since 2005 and the end of five consecutive years of M&A growth. Quarterly...

Shake-out to continue in 2009: Acquisitions Monthly and Merrill Datasite's second roundtable saw experts expecting more companies to stumble. In some cases this will open the door for deal activity, but in others it will fuel a surge in administrations.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
January 1, 2009... Restructuring is set to be a dominant of 2009. The four restructuring participated in the live debate on December 4 agreed that as companies were forced to get to grips with the new economic reality, a growing number would emerge with...

Emerging reality: emerging markets were supposed to have decoupled from the West. Then they were supposed to be a safe haven from the downturn. But the chances are that those calls were made too early.(LEAD FEATURE: EMERGING MARKETS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many investors were looking towards emerging markets for sanctuary from the unravelling credit crisis in the West. Much faith was placed in the so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies as potential...

China looks inwards: the ramifications of China's US$600bn stimulus package may not yet be entirely clear, but it could prove a shot in the arm for a country attempting to shift away from an export-driven economy at a time of impending global recession.(LEAD FEATURE: FOCUS ON CHINA)
January 1, 2009... In early November, just days after Germany edged into recession and a year after the US had unwittingly done the same, China's State Council announced a "massive infrastructure spending programme", aimed at avoiding a similar fate and...

Oil surge sustainable: Aberdeen's energy services expertise makes it a hot spot for deal activity in Scotland.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON OIL SERVICES)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many in the mid-market may have approached the first half of 2008 with trepidation. Northern Rock was nationalised in February and it was becoming apparent that the other banks were unwilling to lend as freely as in...

TMT fails to withstand downturn: lack of confidence and financing has significantly impacted deal flow in the sector. But company CEOs believe they are in a strong position to weather the storm.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON TMT)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mid-market activity in the TMT sector is massively down across almost all of Europe on a year-on-year basis. Arguably, the one exception is the Nordics, the home of Ericsson and Nokia. In this part of the world,...

Fog descends on Mittelstand: German mid-market businesses may be cautious about the uncertain outlook but are generally in better shape than ahead of earlier downturns. This may drive M&A.(COUNTRY REPORTS: FOCUS ON GERMANY)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The current dearth of debt liquidity makes the pace of M&A activity in the Mittelstand akin to driving in the fog. Preliminary data indicates that 2008 is likely to have been the least active in Germany for deals...

Just looking: family-owned businesses with strong balance sheets are considering making acquisitions more than they have been in recent years.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS: FOCUS ON FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A downturn could spell big opportunities for family-owned businesses looking at making acquisitions. Often less indebted and with a longer-term approach, family businesses could be gearing up for a spending spree....

Realigning AIM: London's lightly regulated Alternative Investment Market has suffered sharply during the downturn, prompting desperate measures from the market's advisers.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)(Industry overview)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At its peak in 2007, AIM boasted nearly 1,700 companies collectively worth 100bn [pounds sterling]. However, the London Stock Exchange's junior market has suffered disproportionately over the past 18 months. ...

Banks build on good relations: debt financing for mid-market companies in Europe has been squeezed and the banks are pulling in their horns. But there may still be support available for high quality acquisitions and for acquirers with a proven track record.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: ACQUISITION FINANCE)
January 1, 2009... The shortage of debt liquidity means acquirers are having to adapt to a situation in which more equity may be required and where the process of obtaining debt finance takes longer and is more complex. "Some people at the banks are talking a...

Holding patterns: the struggle for success or survival in private equity's mid-market is certain to continue into 2009 and flexibility on deal structure may be key to avoiding an annus horribilis.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)(Company overview)
January 1, 2009... The private equity mid-market was shaped by two key events in 2008: a change in capital gains tax regulation in the UK in April; and the near-collapse of the banking system in September. The former drove a temporary spike in deals,...

Reaching across the mid-market: a handful of mid-market networks are wing with cross-border corporate finance houses and accountancy firms to connect up buyers and sellers in global deals.(INSTITUTIONS)
January 1, 2009... The original idea for M&A International and Acquisitions Monthly's mid-market forums, the eighth and latest of which was held at the end of November 2008 in one of Milan's landmark hotels--the Principe di Savoia--stems from the coffee break....

Financial advisers.
January 1, 2009... ANY EUROPEAN INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED FINANCIAL ADVISERS Undisclosed values and values up to and including US$50m Rank No. of Mkt. value Financial...

Legal advisers.
January 1, 2009... ANY EUROPEAN INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED LEGAL ADVISERS Undisclosed values and values up to and including US$50m Rank No. of Mkt....