The U.S. mergers and acquisitions markets remained robust in the first month of 2011, despite a slowdown compared to January of 2010, according to the most recent reports on the marketplace issued by Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. and Chicago’s William Blair & Co.
The U.S. marketplace slowed 5.8 percent according to the Baird report and 6.8 percent, according to Blair. However, the total dollar volume increased significantly – 122 percent, according to Baird, and 99.9 percent, according to Blair.
Statistics in the middle market were equally mixed.
Middle market deal volume fell 9.2 percent in January from the same month one year earlier, the Baird report said. The Blair report said middle market volume fell 10.8 percent.
Dollar volume in the middle market rose 45 percent, the Baird report says. The LTM (last twelve month) period in the middle market was $356.4 billion, the brightest for a LTM period since July of 2008, the Baird report said.
