Where are the deals?

Credit market activity seems to have bounced off its recent nadir. Nonfinancial companies raised almost $887 billion via the bond market in the first half of 2009. That's 64 percent more than in the same period last year, when $540.3 billion was raised, according to Dealogic.

The Financial Times notes that this bump in activity has yet to translate to a higher level of mergers and acquisitions activity. Such activity totaled $1,100 billion, "the lowest semi-annual volume since the first half of 2004." Private equity buy-outs remain depressed and totaled just $23 billion, the lowest half-year volume since 1997. One analysts tells the paper that based on past cycles there seems to be about 18 to 24 months of reduced activity still ahead of us, which is bad news. Deal advisers "generated just $5 billion in fees in the first six months of the year--less than half the $11.4 billion in the period last year." 

For more:
- here's the FT article

Post a comment