25 Truths about M&A: Insights from the 3rd Annual Corporate Development Conference

Although mergers & acquisitions activity in the first half of 2016 declined from the record levels of 2015, nearly half of CEOs expect to conduct a domestic transaction this year, while 33 percent expect to do a cross-border deal. Meanwhile, only a quarter of foreign firms’ CEOs expect to accomplish a domestic or cross-border transaction this year. Private equity has tremendous dry powder after being sidelined by high valuations, and now may be ready to reenter the market. Joint ventures have also made a comeback. In fact, optimists were proved correct in October, when M&A activity surged, led by ATT’s $85 billion purchase of Time Warner.