Archive for Author: Marlin & Associates

The business sections of newspapers this month are filled with stories about PE firms and industry participants flush with cash and on the prowl. The U.S. dollar is strong and big deals are in the wind. But the front pages of the same papers are filled with stories about Brian Williams of NBC News. How can these two be related? Well, they are, in a peculiar way, at least to me. Williams admittedly told a lie – he implied that it was a small lie. He really was in Iraq, he really did ride on helicopters, and there really were…

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Happy New Year! So many statistics. So many pundits. It’s been nearly 70 months since the March 2009 bottom of the stock market and the train keeps on rollin’. U.S. equities are up 240% since the bottom. One study said the average bull market has been 50 months and another said 68 months. However you measure, it’s been a long run – and it continues. The U.S. is doing particularly well. Since the global financial crisis, the U.S. dollar has outperformed virtually all currencies other than the Swiss Franc (it has appreciated 92% vs. the Russian ruble). The U.S. national…

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There is no time like the end of a year to contemplate the past and the future… Looking backwards: major stock market indices rose this year to near all-time highs, interest rates declined to historical lows, oil prices dropped, employment improved, and m&a activity boomed. We had a great year here at M&A. Looking forward, the outlook is bright. We see no serious headwinds. As you will see in our  December Newsletter, multiples are strong across nearly every sector, and deal activity is high. My daughter sees things a bit differently. She graduates university this year and is heading to…

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Our latest Market Report is out – it gives our current sense of m&a values, activity, and trends for the dozen plus very specific sectors that we follow and sometimes lead –It’s at  http://buff.ly/1xoTW6Q. We also received a nice accolade this month. Wealth & Finance International magazine named us as a “Recognised Leader in The Middle-Market – USA” in their 2014 Finance Awards. (They spell funny.)  We appreciate the recognition. But we also want to be clear: we’re not a generalist middle-market investment bank. We’re a focused middle-market investment bank – and proud of it. We know who we serve:…

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We live in interesting times. On one hand, US inflation is low, unemployment is improving (and looks better than that of many other countries), US GDP is growing, m&a values are increasing, and m&a transaction volumes are robust. We’re busy. On the other hand, the Russians are in Georgia and Ukraine (Moldova and Estonia are nervous), ISIS is taking over big parts of Syria and Iraq (and beheading Americans), drug cartels seem to have taken over big parts of Mexico, Boku Haram is kidnapping young girls in Nigeria, Hamas and Israel are threatening to restart missile strikes, Libya, Iraq and…

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