BAIRD’S INVESTMENT BANKERS SHARE INSIGHTS ON 2008 M&A ACTIVITY

Middle-market M&A to remain stable despite market turmoil, private equity to face new competition, and India to aggressively drive cross-border buyouts in ’08

January 17 - Wisconsin Business - The volatile U.S. mergers and acquisitions climate in 2007 gave many investors a bumpy ride. In the first seven months of 2007, the dollar volume of announced transactions was up 44 percent from the same period in 2006. In those seven months, dollar volume reached a high of $1.2 trillion, averaging $175 billion each month. But from August to November 2007, dollar volume slumped to just $248 billion for the four-month period, averaging only $62 billion a month.

What’s in store for merger and acquisition activity in 2008? Three managing directors at Baird's Investment Banking group – Chris McMahon, Brian Doyal and Chris Coetzee – share their thoughts.

Middle Market Will Remain Largely Insulated from Economic Turmoil

While there’s only one economy, various sub-segments of the capital market exist. The middle market is one sub-segment that has escaped much of the downturn from credit market turmoil, according to Chris McMahon, Managing Director and Head of U.S. Mergers and Acquisitions at Baird. Read More.