As a result of Deloitte's "2024 M&A Trends Survey: Mind the Gap," the company released its findings today. Deloitte asked corporate and private equity (PE) leaders in the U.S. about their expectations for M&A activity in the upcoming 12 months, as well as their experiences with recent mergers and acquisitions.
There is an optimistic outlook for corporate and PE executives regarding M&A activity for the year ahead, with respondents expecting a rebound in both volume and value for both. In a survey conducted by these executives, 83% of them predicted that deal volume would increase in the next year, and 82% expected the volume of deals within their own organization to increase in the next year as well.
It can be noted that there is a similar trend with respondents' outlook on deal value, with 82% indicating they expect the size of their own organization's deals to increase in the year ahead.
Deloitte's most recent North American CFO SignalsTM survey for 4Q23 further substantiates this assertion by reporting that just over half (51%) of CFOs estimate that between 1% and 10% of their companies' growth in the next three years will be attributed to mergers and acquisitions, while 19% estimate that up to 50% of growth can be attributed to mergers and acquisitions.
There is no doubt that Deloitte's "2024 M&A Trends Survey" represents the largest cohort of respondents in the company's 10-year history. Approximately 1,500 U.S.-based executives represented both sides of the dealmaking process were interviewed for the survey, with a near 50/50 split between corporations and private equity firms.
The key findings of the study are as follows:
In order for M&A deals to happen, dealmakers need to feel confident about their deals. This sentiment can be affected by market conditions, but it is strategy and preparation that set the tone," said Adam Reilly, national managing partner, mergers, acquisitions and restructuring services, Deloitte & Touche LLP.. In the face of the ever-increasing complexity of the M&A lifecycle, leaders are increasingly aware that their path to success depends not only on having a well-defined strategy, but also on using advanced analytics and, in some cases, Generative Artificial Intelligence to assess past decision-making, but also on making better, faster decisions about future deals.
In the face of the ever-increasing complexity of the M&A lifecycle, leaders are increasingly aware that their path to success depends not only on having a well-defined strategy, but also on using advanced analytics and, in some cases, Generative Artificial Intelligence to assess past decision-making, but also on making better, faster decisions about future deals.

Source prnewswire