Survey: Texas cautious on M&A - Houston Business Journal:

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According to a mid-year surveh of middle market investment privateequity professionals, attorneys and accountants working on M&q deals in the Lone Star State, 45 percent expecr activity to increase in the third and fourth quarters, whiles 47 percent expect business to remain the The survey, released Wednesday, is sponsored by the and . The biggesr obstacle to deal-making, according to the is the gap betweenb buyersand sellers.
Thirty-six percent of respondents said sellersz were unwilling to do a deal at the multiplesbeing offered, while 22 percent said uncertainty over the evolving political and tax environmentr was another roadblock, up from four percent in the previouzs survey in December. Because of the effects of the more than half of the respondents said they expectec distressed deals to make up a significan portionof M&A transactions. What’s more, 63 percenft of private equity respondents said they were actively pursuinb distressed company acquisitions as part of an existing or newladopted strategy.
“Though the Texas econom is one ofthe best, given all that has happened over the past nine monthzs it’s not surprising to see a softe r M&A market in Texas. That many Texas M&A professionals are creatively workinfg to add value to existing saidJeffrey Sangalis, managing partnee with and president of ACG Houston. According to Thomson Reuters, the volume of worldwidde M&A deals was $480 billiob in the first quartefrof 2009, down 28 percent from the year-earliedr period. Middle market deals unded $500 million were particularly affected, dipping by 48 percentg to $98 billion — the first quarterlhy period under $100 billion sincd 1996.