Skadden Arps wins–or so reports the Mergermarket Group.  They’ve also issued a 2010 summary that joins the ranks of very optimistic analyses of the return of the merger and acquisition marketplace.

Highlights of their data include:

• Global M&A up 25% from 2009
• Strongest year for private equity buyouts since 2007
• Cross-border deal flow up 73% from 2009
• Most active year by value for emerging markets M&A
• Average EBITDA multiples highest since 2008
• Drop in mega deals in 2010
• European M&A up 41% by value reaching $645.7bn in 2010, up from $459.4bn in 2009
• US M&A reached $72.9bn in 2010, a 4% increase from the $695.1bn recorded in 2009
• M&A reached $396.6bn in Asia-Pacific in 2010, the highest value on record for the region

BVWire remains a bit skeptical, but let’s hope the purchase price allocation and deal analysis part of the business valuation marketplace continues to improve in 2011!