In Talking to Bankers, David Barrett Believes Credit Is Loosening Up

Merger-and-acquisition experts say bank financing was easier to obtain last year than in 2009, when credit essentially dried up, and many expect the pattern of more generous lending to continue this year, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported in its story, "Indiana Companies Prepping for Burst of Acquisitions."

Credit "is definitely loosening up a bit," David Barrett, chairman of the corporate finance group at Baker & Daniels, said in the story. "In my conversations with bankers, they're definitely looking at a lot more deals right now."

But, Barrett added, "It remains to be seen how many of those deals they end up approving and financing."

Conditions are ripe for a barrage of mergers and acquisitions to take place this year, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported. Companies are sitting on piles of cash. Credit - particularly from banks - has loosened while interest rates remain low.

And two years of little to no activity has put private-equity firms, many of which also have ample cash, under the gun to make investments before their life spans expire. All of that, experts say, could create a perfect storm for a resurgence in deal activity that already is starting to take shape, according to the story.