Sunny days or storm clouds? A look at what’s on the M&A horizon

Description

Abstract: Analyst predictions that M&A activity would slow in 2008 have proved accurate. During the first quarter, tighter credit markets reduced the availability of relatively cheap financing that had buoyed M&As for the previous few years. This article discusses how the softened economy has affected large and middle-market deals and both domestic and international mergers. It also explains why private-equity firms are likely to represent less of a competitive threat to corporate buyers in the near term.