Valuations at Historic Highs, Number of Deals at Historic Lows
Industry surveys are reporting 2017 M&A valuations for environmental consulting and engineering (C&E) firms at 10-year highs. While this would seem to be good news for sellers, what was a surprise to many, including us, was that 2016 and the start of 2017 actually saw a dramatic decline in M&A deals in the environmental C&E sector. So, what are we to make of this disparity in the market? Will the trend continue? Thinking about this reminded me of one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs, Both Sides Now, because clearly there are two sides to this story.