Last year turned out to be the second-best for global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) since 2007. The total volume of M&A for 2016 was $3.6trn, a 17% drop from 2015's record $4.37trn.
The US accounts for around half of dealmaking, and there the outlook is auspicious. President-elect Donald Trump is hoping to encourage US firms to bring back some of the money they have stockpiled overseas to avoid taxes. If his tweak to the tax code works, much of the money seems likely to be spent on acquisitions. And "apart from available funds, the other big driver of M&A is CEO confidence", says Brooke Sutherland on Bloomberg.com. The Trump-induced rally thus bodes well.
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