Global M&A activity expected to slow down

M&A deal volume is set to slowdown in 2007

The current worldwide boom in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is set to slowdown, according to new research.

Consultancy KPMG says the total number of global deals in 2007 will decrease from 2006, a year when the average size and volume of M&A deals reached an all-time high.

'The momentum which delivered record M&A growth in 2006 is not likely to be sustained,' said Stephen Barrett, international chairman, corporate finance at KPMG.

'Global activity is about to peak, certainly in terms of deal volume, and we foresee a continued fall in deal numbers during the course of 2007.'

By contrast, separate research has previously suggested that the value of European technology M&A has more than doubled in the past year.

In May, market analyst Thomson Financial found that M &A activity this year reached a total value of $36.4bn (£18.4bn), compared with $14.4bn (£7.3bn) at the same time last year.

The Thomson survey reflected an overall increase in worldwide market activity, which it said was running 77 per cent ahead of last year across many sectors, including financial, industrial, property and technology.

Speaking to Computing in May about the Thomson research, Peter Rowell, chairman of investment bank Regent Associates, said the number of technology deals is relatively static, but that M&A values continue to rise.

‘The difficulty with tracking deal value is that a few big deals can distort results,’ he said at the time.