Engineering growth: Global engineering & construction industry mergers and acquisitions analysis - 3Q 2010

Curate’s egg: The changing deal environment

In the third quarter 2010, M&A deal activity in the global engineering and construction industry saw a significant improvement in deal value in both relative and absolute terms compared with the second quarter; however, deal volume lagged for deals with values of $50 million or more. We expect deal activity will continue to build momentum through 2010 as the deal environment continues to improve.

In addition to a detailed summary of deal activity in the quarter, we supplemented this issue of Engineering growth with a special report on the unstable global economy and its impact on the strategic deal environment. To strengthen their core businesses, many companies are expanding their foreign investments. While emerging markets offer opportunities to grow, they also present commercial risks and challenges. Similar to a "curate's egg," today's economic expectations are a mixed bag of positive and negative.