According to an RBS Citizens survey, nearly 80% of middle market companies active in corporate development are pursuing acquisitions now or are open to making acquisitions in 2013.
Asked to identify specific corporate development activities they are currently involved with or planning for the year ahead, companies reported the following:
The survey indicates that firms expect to undertake an average of more than three corporate development activities in 2013.
“The strong interest in acquisitions revealed in this survey shows that middle market companies are very busy evaluating acquisition opportunities and will continue to be so in 2013,” said Bob Rubino, executive vice president and head of corporate finance and capital markets at RBS Citizens. “Clearly, top line revenue challenges and low economic growth rates, coupled with historically low interest rates, are leading many companies to see acquisitions as important to their growth strategies.”
RBS Citizens, in partnership with Cogent Research, conducted the survey of 330 middle market companies in New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states between September 17 and October 18, 2012. Survey respondents were business executives directly involved in the decision-making process related to corporate development, including owners, CEOs, presidents, CFOs, COOs, partners, principals and directors. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 5.4%. For the purpose of this report, middle market refers to companies with revenues between $5 million and $2 billion.
Other key findings of the RBS Citizens survey include:
Optimism about the future of the M&A market is high:
Interest in acquisitions is widespread:
Financing is available:
Many sellers are interested but not actively looking for buyers:
Many would-be sellers are unsure of their value:
To download the full middle market M&A survey, click here.