Q1 M&A: Is the buyout boom slowing?

April 9 - Financial Week - The total value of announced and completed deals fell 8% last month. Is it time to worry?

Though global M&A this year is currently outpacing 2006 by more than 18% in total value, March data show a remarkable double-digit slowdown in deal-making volume year over year. The number of announced deals dropped 19%, to 4,989, in March 2007, while deals that were completed last month dropped 20%, to 3,487. Notably less grim, but still surprising: The total known value of global M&A transactions fell 8%, to $735 billion. Still, investment bankers have taken home about $2 billion from fees in the first quarter, just a fraction of what most observers believe they’ll earn in what’s expected to be the busiest year so far for mergers and acquisitions. “What was deemed to be possible a year ago when we thought the limits were $25 billion to $30 billion has been easily beaten, particularly in the U.S.,” said Gavin MacDonald, the London-based head of European M&A at Morgan Stanley, the leading M&A adviser in terms of total deal value. Read More. (Click on the link to the full report on the bottom of the page)