“Merger and acquisitions transaction activity dropped slightly in the third quarter of 2010 after a strong second quarter performance, almost solely to the decrease in under $50 million transactions,” says Mike Rosendahl (PCE Investment Bankers). “The decrease in activity is somewhat surprising given reports that financial and strategic buyers across multiple sectors are reporting an uptick in deal flow.”  For the full report, “State of the M&A Markets, Third Quarter 2010,” including the latest, year-end, summary transactions data, check PCE’s Investment Banking page.