A recent survey conducted by a national accounting and advisory firm indicates a renewed global confidence and expectation to complete transactions. Over the next six months, one third of global businesses will be looking for new acquisitions.

In the United States, the report concludes 36% of companies plan to make acquisitions in the next six months, up from 22% six months ago.

While this may be good news for business owners who are considering selling in the near future, today’s bullishness may not last long. There continues to be uncertainty about the economy, taxes, rising deficits, government regulations and the political future of the country. In situations like this, companies tend to focus their efforts by building from within, paring unprofitable product lines and cutting costs to improve profitability.

We anticipate businesses will continue to become more competitive by pursuing both courses of action – buying companies and building from within.

On the local level, buyer activity at our Southern California office is up over 300% from last year and it’s from all segments of the market. Corporate balance sheets are strong and it’s not just the public companies looking to buy businesses. Smaller, middle market companies with revenues of $10 to $100 million are actively seeking acquisitions of companies that provide complementary services or regional expansion opportunities.

Private Equity investors began ramping up their acquisition efforts in last year. We expect fund managers are turning to investments in privately owned companies because they are looking for better returns than they can get in the stock market. The last two years have been profitable for stock investors, driven partly by M&A activity, and historically this signals the beginning of the acquisition cycle for private companies.

Private individuals who missed acquisition opportunities in 2007 and 2008 are back in the market and are eager to run their own businesses. Low interest rates, increased loan limits and SBA incentive programs have created a window of opportunity these buyers might not see again for years.

Clearly, the desire and the money to get deals done exist. Whether it’s private equity, corporations or entrepreneurial individuals, offers are being made. Overall, we think the outlook is very positive for 2011.