The new year is shaping up to be big for New Hampshire companies looking to buy or sell.
A survey released this week by Citizens Bank predicted that 2017 will be an active year for mergers and acquisitions among middle-market companies throughout the country.
Joe Carelli, president of Citizens Bank for New Hampshire and Vermont, said the business climate in the Granite State fits right in with the nationwide outlook for an active 2017.
Mr Carelli said, “In northern New England, we will share in that same increased opportunity”.
The northern region includes New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. Mr Carelli said the similar business makeup in Maine and New Hampshire aligns with the signs for a big year predicted in the annual report, the Citizens Commercial Banking Middle Market M&A Outlook. The study defines mid-market as companies ranging between $5 million (£3.98 million) and $2 billion (£1.59 billion) in annual revenue.
“The sectors where we saw transactions occur were in manufacturing, distribution and financial services, which in some respects mirror what the northern New England economy of companies looks like,” added Carelli.
There have been strong surges in the number of buyers and sellers in the corporate market and growing confidence in the overall economy. Mr Carelli said there are many corporate clients looking to expand and other business owners feeling that the value of their companies has peaked.
“There’s this perfect storm of opportunities that’s occurring right now,” Carelli said.
Mr Carelli said once a match is made, the transaction itself can be quite substantial and take some time to come together.
“We have some good visibility into 2017 already,” he said.
“We’re in the middle of numerous discussions — some early-stage, some late-stage — on both the buy and sell side. We expect to see an uptick this year.”
