We asked 130 lenders, attorneys, investors and investment bankers when they believe middle market M&A activity will pick up again. There is a growing consensus among professionals that deal activity levels are on the upswing. In this edition of Viewpoint, we summarize the survey’s key takeaways regarding how today’s changing economic conditions, investor confidence levels and deal financing environment will impact future M&A activity levels...

There is a logical explanation for why credit markets are tight and will remain so for the rest of 2009 and into 2010. Banks (and many non-bank lenders) remain overleveraged, and are being forced by regulators and market forces to de-leverage by raising capital and reducing the overall size of their balance sheets...

Like virtually every other sector of the worldwide economy, the transaction sector has been impacted significantly by the current financial crisis. Frozen credit markets, declining corporate profits and overleveraged borrowers are converging to make 2009 one of the more challenging deal environments in memory. November 2008 saw the lowest number of transactions close since September 2001, and the trend has been downhill from there...

In our 22 years of experience advising middle market companies, we have found that in times of financial distress and market dislocation, business leaders are often too slow to recognize a trend, and therefore too slow to make the critical changes that are necessary to avoid losses. Such hesitation is natural, especially for entrepreneurs. But there is also a false sense of security that many executives and board members share, that stems from a common misconception of fiduciary duty. Fiduciaries generally understand their duty as “generating value for shareholders”, which is only part of the equation...

With the U.S. economy heading in the wrong direction and the equity markets in disarray, Mirus considers in this issue how middle-market companies should be approaching mergers and acquisitions. This month we will examine how sellers can expect to fare in the current market. We’ll also discuss why it is that healthy middle-market companies and their shareholders — many of whom may have been planning for an exit — may instead want to consider making an acquisition in the next 12 months...