In a survey of corporate CEOs and Board members completed last week, a two-thirds majority say they are more likely to obtain a fairness opinion in an M&A deal, given the current lawsuit-laden business climate. Half of respondents believe that litigation due to perceived unfair valuations will increase, according to the survey—conducted by mergermarket on behalf of Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin (New York). For a copy of the survey, go to www.hlhz.com/email/2006/pdf/hlhz_study_mergermarket.pdf.

More importantly: No one surveyed expects the level of lawsuits to decline—leaving the door open for the valuation professionals to enter the M&A deal rooms. And fairness opinions aren’t the only way to boost this profitable work: There’s also competitive intelligence profiles, customer surveys, talking with suppliers and competitors, etc. Says a BV insider, “Those who know about the different dimensions of value creation can also make a significant contribution during the [M&A] due diligence process.”