PI 400 -- M&A Activity - Acquisitions Yield To Slow Economy

Then, along about July or August of 2002, we will begin to see a handful of acquisition announcements by the more traditional buyers and a few new buyers. The pace of deals will steadily accelerate and it's likely that deals will peak up again around 2006. I said deals will peak up. I don't ever expect valuations to reach the levels of 1997-99 during my lifetime. They will improve, as more buyers enter the market, but too much has been learned from the overpayments, so buyers will be more discriminating.