M&A Activity: The Invisible 'Tuck-in' Deals

"We will continue to see more of the same—distressed deals and smaller mergers of two drunks trying to prop each other up and a few healthy deals—for the next year," he says. "There will also be some healthy companies that will put their toes back in the water to test the M&A market. With each day that passes, owners will have more runway behind them that shows improved profitability from the recession dip, and this longer period of improving earnings will give buyers more confidence and make them more willing to make acquisitions."