Merrill DataSite Survey Indicates High Expectations for Private Equity Transactions in Q4 2010

    NEW YORK, NY, November 02, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Executives are increasingly more optimistic about deal flow in Q4 2010, according to polling data commissioned by Merrill DataSite, the leading provider of virtual data room (VDR) solutions for business communication and information management and gathered by peHUB.com, the leading information website for private equity professionals. The data revealed that almost half (48 percent) of those polled believe, as it relates to private equity transactions, that there will be an uptick of 10 percent - 50 percent in deal flow compared to Q4 2009. Moreover, 21 percent of those polled think that deal flow will increase up to 10 percent in Q4 2010 vs. Q4 2009.

"The results bolster what Merrill DataSite has experienced firsthand in its VDR business throughout 2010; an increasing level deal flow activity coming out of the private equity shops. There appears be a real sense of urgency to empty the deal pipeline by the end of the year; more so than we've seen in recent history," said Richard A. Martin Jr., Senior Director of Merrill DataSite.

Respondents cited a variety of factors as the main drivers behind deal flow in Q4 2010. The majority of those polled (40 percent) believe that year end tax changes will be one of the biggest factors driving deal consummation in the end of 2010. Slightly more than one quarter (26 percent) cited private equity overhang, or the need to put funds to work, as a main driver of deal flow in the final quarter of 2010 as well.

For more information on Merill DataSite please visit www.datasite.com.

Merrill DataSite (www.datasite.com) is a comprehensive virtual data room (VDR) solution that accelerates the due diligence process by providing a secure online document repository for confidential time-sensitive documents.

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