GulfStar Middle Market Commentary – December 2019

Middle market merger and acquisition activity continues unabated as owners take advantage of favorable economic and financial market conditions that most M&A practitioners believe should be well past their sell-by dates. Overall, North American M&A volume in 2019 is projected to surpass $2.0 trillion for the second straight year. Year-to-date middle market transaction volume through the first three quarters increased year-over-year, though the pace of 2019 activity was skewed more heavily towards the early periods and associated deal count declined. It is too soon to conclude that expectations of slowing growth among middle market companies is damping owner motivation to sell. More likely is that three years of wide-open dealmaking activity has depleted the supply of quality middle market companies available to transact.