A Look Back at 2005 Merger & Acquisition Activity

Worldwide merger and acquisition activity reached $2,900 billion, 40% higher than in 2004, but still short of the $3,300 billion level reached in 2000. Based on this, 2005 was the third best year on record for mergers and acquisitions. The robust activity may be attributed to a number of factors including greater confidence amongst chief executives and the propensity of executives to use cash on their balance sheets for acquisitions rather than distribution to shareholders.

Valuation Brief–MA Outlook 2006 v1.2