Viewpoint: A buyer's market
Howard Lickens contemplates what impact a predicted rush of purchaser-driven activity may have on the consolidation market and compares the sustainability of past and present models.
The shape of the consolidation market in 2010 and the near future is likely to rest more in the hands of the buyers than the sellers. Recently, there have been rumbles from larger consolidators about the 'war chests' they are building up with the associated hints of a buyer-driven surge of activity. It seems very unlikely indeed, however, that we will see a return to the frenetic consolidation bubble of a few years back as this was partly tax driven and fed by insurers trying to grab market
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