M&A mania rolls, but for how long?

In 1999, I wrote an article that said 49 acquisitions would close in the governmentservices sector that year.I described the "torrid pace of consolidation." Well, that 1999 pace seemsrather tepid now compared to the pace of acquisitionsin the past four years. Nearly 100 deals closed in 2007,and 398 deals have closed since 2004.That's an amazing statistic to me. But like the housingbubble, I don't think that pace can be maintained.The sheer number of closings has to come down ?perhaps not in 2008 or 2009, buteventually.What I think will not change isthat certain core companies will continueto treat acquisitions as anotherline of business that is expected togenerate a certain percentage of revenuegrowth each year. Those companieswill keep making acquisitionsbecause it is what they do. It is another core competency for them.Our annual special report on mergers and acquisitions lists all the deals thatclosed in 2007 in the government services sector. That list and the top 10 dealsdemonstrate that a variety of forces are at work driving companies and investorsto spend money in the government market.As a barometer of the market, our list of transactions shows that confidencein the government as a business opportunity is high.Special thanks to Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin, which compiles theannual list for Washington Technology, and our panel of experts who picked ourtop 10 deals of 2007. We couldn't do it without you.