Multinationals see M&A pace picking up. (New and Noteworthy Information You Can Use).

Senior executives of large multinationals in the U.S. anticipate an increase in mergers and acquisitions in their industries within the next 12 months, and nine in 10 forecast higher mergers and acquisitions activity in the next two years. These findings came out of the most recent PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Barometer survey. Those who expect to make more deals in the near future also expect to spend more time and effort on proper due diligence.

The majority of those surveyed (53%) say that deals have been important to the growth of their organization over the past two years, and 59% say M&A will be important for growth in the next two years.

Yet current M&A activity appears to have slowed -- 55% of respondents said as much when asked. More companies in the technology industry cited a slowdown in deals (60%), compared to all others (48%). Over the next two years, 60%, spread evenly across industries, are planning to make new deals. This is a drop of 7% over the past two years.

Among those who reported an M&A slowdown in their industry, 57% believe that a resurgence will hinge on increased market demand for goods and services, including an overall improvement in the U.S. economy.

Those planning new mergers and acquisitions say they will spend more time on a range of due diligence areas. Projected financials and non-financial performance measures topped their list at 58% and 52% respectively.

"The current climate has brought with it a healthy skepticism, and a renewed respect for the basics," says Brian Levy, a transaction services technology partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. "All parties will benefit from more -- and more thorough -- due diligence."

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