M&A activity in the U.S. increased 8% in the first half of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010, reports Ari Goldschneider (Grant Thornton) in Dealmaker (Summer 2011). Activity from financial buyers accounts for 40% of overall growth in M&A activity.   “Finding a willing financial buyer is becoming more feasible as funds keep chipping away at their large quantities of uninvested capital and the debt market for sponsor-based deals remains stable,” says Goldschneider.

According to the Q2 2011 Software Equity Industry Report, “public software, Internet and software as a service (SaaS) market valuations benefited from the rebound in IT spending, record levels in Internet retail sales, and sharply higher online advertising spending.”  

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