Except for a few high profile mega-deals, such as Dell and Verizon Wireless, mergers and acquisitions volume remains light both in the US and globally. In particular private equity buyout activity has been weak and declining. That’s one of the reasons corporate loan supply remains tight (see discussion).
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| Source: Mergermarket |
Of particular concern is the Q3 slowdown in deals. It’s driven by the uncertainty created through Fed’s “taper talk” as well as the dysfunctional behavior of the US federal government.
TheStreet: – Deal volumes for the third quarter sank to their lowest levels in three years as a lack of corporate confidence on the economic outlook continues to erode M&A appetite.
There were just 2,235 deals announced in the third quarter, the worst since the same period in 2009, according to Dealogic, as uncertainty caused by the government shutdown, an end to Federal Reserve stimulus and a raft of new capital and regulatory requirements bite.