The Dog that Didn’t Bark
By Kim Levin | Jun 12, 2013
From Private Equity Digest, June 10, 2013 By Andy Greenberg, CEO, GF Data®
This article was originally published by Private Equity Professional Digest. This article is being republished with permission form GF Data and may not be used or reproduced by anyone without permission from GF Data.
One of my favorite explanatory images is “the dog that didn’t bark” – Sherlock Holmes’s key to solving a mystery by paying attention to what didn’t happen as well as what did. As readers of GF Data’s most recent report may appreciate, the dog that didn’t bark is an apt metaphor for middle-market deal activity in the year to date.
For the fourth quarter of 2012, the 183 private equity firms that are active contributors to GF Data reported 92 completed transactions in the $10 million to $250 million Total Enterprise value (TEV) range. This groundswell of activity – clearly driven by individual business owners anticipating increases in federal tax rates – did not carry over into the early months of 2013. For the first quarter of 2013, the same universe reported 14 deals.
Financial buyers and other deal professionals seem to agree that M&A activity is picking up, but that the traditional markers – economic growth, key sector strength, corporate performance, public stock prices, capital available to buyers – still suggest a market more vigorous than the one we are actually experiencing. Read more »
Our nation will soon observe Memorial Day – a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. First observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery, Memorial Day is now celebrated on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971). As we commemorate those who have given their “last full measure of devotion and duty”, let’s also recognize and express our appreciation to all who have served and are serving to protect our country and our way of life.



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“This year will be my best ever. I want to wait until that’s done, 
