About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Blogs

BDO M&A Survey 2011 – Strong M&A Demand Hampered By “Valuation Gap”

Subscribe to our newsletter

BDO, the accountancy and business advisory firm, today released its annual M&A Survey, polling the views of CEOs and Financial Directors of mid-market companies1.

Key findings included: 55% of companies that sought to make a transaction in the last 12 months failed to do so. On average one transaction has been completed for every eight considered in the last 24 months. 84% of businesses believe that mergers and acquisitions they have completed over the last 24 months have met or exceeded expectations. Acquisitions are being sought as drivers for growth; 85% of respondents have growth targets in excess of inflation, with over a quarter (28%) targeting turnover growth of over 25%. Acquisitions are part of business strategy for three quarters of companies (76%9), with a particular desire amongst publicly quoted and Private Equity backed companies. 54% of companies looking to make acquisitions consider diversification into a new sector as a focus, with 25% highlighting TMT as the most attractive.

Roger Buckley, Partner, BDO commented: “In the midst of these turbulent market conditions, it is encouraging to see that the majority of companies are actively looking to grow, rather than simply remain afloat. Obviously challenges remain. With many companies sitting on cash, there is less pressure to make divestments and it is clear a „valuation gap? exists between buyers, who are targeting acquisitions for growth purposes and sellers, who are in no rush. Vendor price expectations have been the greatest hurdle for acquisitive businesses, but financing, processes and finding opportunities are also significant.”

Other findings included:

  • More than a third of companies (37%) are anticipating making divestments as the market recovers, with most of these expecting to do so in the next two years.
  • Of those companies considering divestments, six in ten (59%) believe that valuations will stay the same over the next 12 months, and the same proportion (59%) think they will increase after this point.
  • 85% of companies consult their non-executive directors in the consideration process for M&A activity, with almost a third of companies (32%) giving them full involvement throughout the transaction including the assessment, approval and sign-off process.
  • Over seven in ten acquisitive companies (71%) will look to advisers to source deals.

Roger Buckley continued: “There is evidence to suggest that companies looking to divest are expecting to become more comfortable with valuations in the next year, which should help with supply. However, increased supply does not necessarily translate into value for money for potential acquirers. This explains why the views of advisers and non-executive directors are increasingly being sought, with companies appreciating the value of independent opinion in getting the deal right.”

1Concluding in July 2011, 121 telephone interviews were carried out with senior decision makers involved in corporate strategy within acquisitive mid-market UK companies. The fieldwork was conducted by Critical Research and analysed by David Burton Associates.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Upcoming Webinar: End-to-End Lineage for Financial Services: The Missing Link for Both Compliance and AI Readiness

8 October 2025 10:00am ET | 3:00pm London | 4:00pm CET Duration: 50 Minutes The importance of complete robust end-to-end data lineage in financial services and capital markets cannot be overstated. Without the ability to trace and verify data across its lifecycle, many critical workflows – from trade reconciliation to risk management – cannot be...

BLOG

Being Prepared for Tomorrow Requires an Advanced Data Architecture Today

By Don Huff, Global Head of Client Services and Operations, Bloomberg and Maureen Gallagher, Head of Enterprise Reference Data, Bloomberg. Data has quickly become the hottest commodity in the financial sector: trading and investment teams are laser-focused on accessing the best, newest data to get an edge on the competition. While this arms race for...

EVENT

AI in Capital Markets Summit New York

The AI in Capital Markets Summit will explore current and emerging trends in AI, the potential of Generative AI and LLMs and how AI can be applied for efficiencies and business value across a number of use cases, in the front and back office of financial institutions. The agenda will explore the risks and challenges of adopting AI and the foundational technologies and data management capabilities that underpin successful deployment.

GUIDE

Regulatory Data Handbook 2025 – Thirteenth Edition

Welcome to the thirteenth edition of A-Team Group’s Regulatory Data Handbook, a unique and practical guide to capital markets regulation, regulatory change, and the data and data management requirements of compliance across Europe, the UK, US and Asia-Pacific. This year’s edition lands at a moment of accelerating regulatory divergence and intensifying data focused supervision. Inside,...