Executives are increasingly more optimistic about deal flow in Q4 2010, according to polling data commissioned by Merrill DataSite and gathered by peHUB.com.
The data revealed that almost half (48 per cent) of those polled believe, as it relates to private equity transactions, that there will be an uptick of ten per cent to 50 per cent in deal flow compared to Q4 2009.
Moreover, 21 per cent of those polled think that deal flow will increase up to ten per cent in Q4 2010 versus Q4 2009.
"The results bolster what Merrill DataSite has experienced firsthand in its VDR business throughout 2010; an increasing level deal flow activity coming out of the private equity shops. There appears be a real sense of urgency to empty the deal pipeline by the end of the year; more so than we’ve seen in recent history," says Richard A. Martin Jr., senior director of Merrill DataSite.
Respondents cited a variety of factors as the main drivers behind deal flow in Q4 2010. The majority of those polled (40 per cent) believe that year-end tax changes will be one of the biggest factors driving deal consummation in the end of 2010. Slightly more than one quarter (26 per cent) cited private equity overhang, or the need to put funds to work, as a main driver of deal flow in the final quarter of 2010 as well.
