There has been widespread talk of a potential economic downturn on the horizon ever since the yield on 2-year US Treasury notes overtook the yields on 10-year Treasury notes (a phenomenon known as a yield curve inversion). While this may serve as a warning sign for retail investors, it can also be interpreted as a signal for corporates and strategics to increase their M&A activity. As this chart illustrates, active acquirers consistently outperformed bystanders during the 2008 economic downturn. Strategic Investment Outlook
Prerecession M&A activity 2007
No acquisitions
One or more acquisitions
M&A activity during recession 2008-2009
One or more acquisitions
No acquisitions
One or more acquisitions
No acquisitions
Average total shareholder returns based on M&A activity (compound annual growth rate 2007-2017)
One or more acquisitions between 2007 and 2009
One or more acquisitions only in 2007
One or more acquisitions only in 2008-2009
No acquisitions between 2007 and 2009
5.5%
6.1%
3.8%
5.0%
Source: Bain & Company
FE has seen inorganic growth through acquisition continue to be a prevalent strategy since the beginning of 2022, with nearly 37% of our closed deals going to strategic and corporate acquirers in that time. We expect that this strong demand will continue into 2024 as companies are becoming more aware that statistically they are most likely to continue growing if they make acquisitions consistently – not just as a one off or ignoring it entirely. In- house business development teams have also continued to look at smaller and smaller deals A decade ago, public companies would not buy $50M market-cap companies. Now, it is common.
FE International
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2024 Digital Media M&A Report
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