After a lacklustre period in which merger and acquisition activity
ground to a halt, it appears that some momentum is picking up,
although it will be some time before we see a return to the
mega-deals of a few years ago. CI’s dealwatch, a new monthly
feature, will keep track of the deals taking place in the
industry.

The start of the global credit crunch in 2007 has had many
devastating effects – withdrawal of funding and bank lending,
company closures and bankruptcies, job losses and rising credit
losses. For much of last year, merger and acquisition activity was
put on hold as organisations scrambled frantically to boost their
capital reserves and hoard cash. Despite full-blown recessions
occurring in many countries, the last few months have been notable
for the fact that some card and payment entities are being brave
enough to step forward and bolster their businesses while prices
are cheap and at a time when banks are slowly beginning to regain
the confidence to lend again. Whether this burgeoning confidence
can be sustained remains to be seen – for the time being, it would
appear that the green shoots of economic recovery need to grow a
lot further before we see a return to the mega-billion dollar deals
of just a couple of years ago.
M&A chart