M&A Outlook 2008: Energy sector

M&A Outlook 2008: Energy sector

With winter just around the corner and oil surging toward $100 a barrel, the energy sector has been on the minds of consumers as wells as dealmakers lately. A panel of dealmakers gathered Wednesday at The Deal's M&A Outlook 2008 conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Battery Park in New York City to discuss the M&A opportunities in the sector. The general sentiment of the three panelists, Richard A. Vaccari, vice president, mergers and acquisitions at Sempra Energy; Douglas Korn, senior managing director and executive VP at Bear Stearns Merchant Banking; and Jamie Welch, head of global energy, investment banking division, at Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, is that the outlook for energy deals will remain bullish.

Mohr offered some color on trends. This year, she said, really represents the high-water mark of where M&A is globally. Overseas is where the growth lies. In 2007 to date, she said 45% of global M&A has been cross-border. It should be somewhere in the high 40% range by the end of the year. While Europe and U.S. have historically driven this, growth in the rest of the world has almost doubled over recent years. In the second quarter of 2007, there was $800 billion in global M&A volume. In the third quarter, it dropped to $400 million. The fallout largely came from the U.S. and Europe, she said, while volume from the rest of the world was essentially flat. The role of emerging markets and their companion sovereign wealth funds are driving a lot of this. Sectors where activity is hot include: financial services, energy and power, and industrials. Read More.