Global Acquirer Trends Report, Q1 2019

Mid-market companies don't operate in a parallel universe but there are quarters when it feels that way. Even as world commodity and stock markets continued to prove volatile (albeit rebounding) after a weak fourth quarter in 2018, mid-market mergers and acquisitions (M&A) volume stayed remarkably steady.

Global deal totals dipped slightly in Q1 2019 compared to Q4 2018, down to 2,379 from 2,762, but the fourth quarter is often stronger given the motivation to close deals by year end. By looking at deal volume from Q1 2018, however, which provides a purer year-on-year comparison, we see that deal flow has remained robust over comparable quarters, as total deal flow in Q1 2018 was 2,595.

In North America, 1,338 deals were completed during the first quarter of 2019 compared to 1,492 in the previous quarter but, here too, the year-on-year comparison suggests that not much has changed, with Q1 2018 showing 1,452 transactions.

The Global Acquirer Trends is a quarterly report focusing on M&A activity across key international markets.

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