DealLawyers.com Blog

Here are some of the finer points from a recent Dykema “2009 M&A Outlook Survey“:

– Confidence in the U.S. M&A market is starting to improve. In 2008, only 16 percent believed it would be strong in the following year, down from a high of 63 percent of respondents in 2006. This year, 28 percent of respondents predicted a strong market and just 19 percent had a weak outlook.

– Like the U.S. M&A market, confidence in the economy continues to strengthen. In 2005, 51 percent had a positive outlook on the economy, but that number dropped to just eight percent last year. Thirty-five percent of respondents to the 2009 survey have a positive outlook on the U.S. economy in the coming year.

– Respondents are split on the issue of how the federal government’s actions within the past 12 months have impacted the U.S. M&A market. Twenty-seven percent think the federal government has made a positive impact/increased activity, 22 percent think it has made a negative impact/decreased activity, and 50 percent think the government’s actions have made little to no difference.

– Deals are not closing due to financing issues and material adverse changes in business. Forty-nine percent of respondents were involved in a deal that didn’t close, primarily due to financing or a material adverse change in business.

– There is a continued expectation that financial buyers will again decrease their presence in the market more than strategic and foreign buyers. Fifty-four percent predict financial buyers will further decrease their role and 51 percent believe strategic buyers will increase their presence in the M&A market.