Merger and acquisition and leveraged buyout activity levels will continue to rise in the U.S. mid-market, according to a new survey of middle market deal-makers by GE Antares Capital.

Over two-thirds of survey respondents said they expect the mid-market M&A environment to expand over the next 12 months. This aligns with recent data from the National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM), which saw mid-market revenue growth in the first quarter of 2014 of 6.5% compared to just 0.5% for the S&P 500.