Survey: More Mergers, Acquisitions to Come.

• Author: Mayfield, Mandy
• Position: News Briefs

Professionals in the aerospace, defense and government services sectors are optimistic about the overall economic growth happening within the mergers and acquisitions industry, a new survey found.

The second annual "Merger and Acquisition Survey for Aerospace, Defense and Government Services Sector Activity," created by KippsDeSanto, a Tysons Corner, Virginia-based independent investment banking firm, found that about 80 percent of participants expected moderate to strong growth in M&A activity in 2019.

That "is really a continuation of some very positive trends that we have seen over the last several years," said Michael Misantone, managing director at KippsDeSanto.

Survey participants rated defense spending as the most important factor, with nearly 80 percent of dealmakers rating it as either "extremely" or "very" influential.

The top three priority interests in the defense sector, according to respondents, are electronics, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and unmanned systems.

Respondents were asked if they believed recent events, such as the 2018 midterm elections, will affect mergers and acquisition activity. More than 80 percent of...