August 28, 2009—The pace of mergers and acquisitions in the engineering and construction sector slowed substantially during the first half of 2009 compared with prior periods, according to the inaugural edition of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report Engineering growth: Second-quarter 2009 global engineering and construction mergers and acquisitions analysis.
Total deals declined 67 percent to 42 in the first half of 2009 from 126 during the first half of 2008. Deal value for the first half of 2009 totaled $12 billion, a 64 percent decline from the first half of 2008 ($33 billion).
While deals activity has remained weak on a year-over-year basis, there was an uptick in both deal value and volume between the first and second quarters of this year. In the second quarter of 2009, 27 deals were announced, nearly double the 15 deals announced in the prior quarter. In addition, total deal value jumped to $9 billion in the second quarter, compared to the $3 billion announced in the first quarter of 2009.
“Looking forward, we anticipate a limited amount of deal activity in most segments of the engineering and construction sector,” said Kent Goetjen, U.S. engineering and construction industry leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Companies are bracing themselves for challenging operating environments, and investors continue to remain conservative. A wider global economic recovery is essential before we expect to see a significant increase in deal activity within this sector.”
