A Look at the 2012 M&A Market

In a recent panel conversation hosted by AxialMarket, Steve Brown, Head of Corporate Development at Standex and Ramsey Goodrich, Managing Director at Carter Morse & Mathias, discussed the M&A market in 2012 and outlined some of their expectations.

Mr. Brown noted that Corporations will be looking to grow their top and bottom lines in 2012 – but not only by organic means, as we’ve seen the last few years. Brown believes that this year, Corporations will increasingly look for quality acquisitions to help drive this growth.

On the private equity side, Brown mentioned that pent-up deals might result in a flurry of activity this year. With multiples rising, private equity groups will be looking to sell businesses that they’ve been holding longer than intended. And with a significant amount of capital on the sidelines, investors will be looking for opportunities to deploy some of that capital.

According to Mr. Goodrich, a strong year can be expected in the M&A market from both owner-sellers and private equity sellers. Goodrich said that private equity groups typically jump in sooner than business owners, but he doesn’t expect the latter to be far behind.

For more information on this panel discussion, visit AxialMarket.com.

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The Privilege Of Being American

In a recent Wall Street Journal column by Lawrence Lindsey, the former Federal Reserve Governor takes issue with a statement made by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Last week, Geithner said that the “most fortunate Americans” should have to shell-out more in taxes for the  “privilege of being an American.”

Lindsey notes three distinct problems with Geithner’s statement. First, he says that a privilege is something granted to an individual by someone higher in power. This goes directly against our nation’s founding principles. Those who govern us do not in any way grant us privileges. It is our elected officials who have been given the privilege of serving the American people.

Second, Lindsey reminds his readers that America’s top earners pay a record share of income taxes. He argues that the relative tax burden on the top 5% of taxpayers compared to the other 95% has grown from three-to-one before 1980 to almost six-to-one today.

Third, the author points out a blatant logical problem with Geithner’s argument. If being governed is a privilege for American citizens, why shouldn’t everyone pay for that privilege? Why only those making more than $250,000? More than half of American workers pay no income taxes, yet somehow to the Obama administration, it seems fair that those over an arbitrary threshold must take responsibility for the burden.

The entire article can be found at the Wall Street Journal.

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