The December Composite score on the Mid-Market M&A Conditions Index (MACI) indicated a contraction in dealmaking for the first time since Mergers & Acquisitions began our monthly surveys in the fall of 2013. (See related graphic.)

Declines in the scores for Leads and Signed Letters are normal at the end of the year, reflecting the shift in focus from finding deals to closing them. But the score for Completed Deals was below 50 for the second month, a sign that the slowdown in M&A is intensifying.

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Derived from monthly surveys of approximately 250 executives, the MACI is a diffusion index. Readings above 50 indicate an expansion in M&A activity, and readings below 50 show a contraction.

For the previous edition of the MACI, see Leads for New Deals Plummeted in November.

M&A conditions index