The deal environment remained challenging in 2009. The dollar value of global deals fell 41 percent in the third quarter of 2009, from the third quarter of 2008 to $478 billion. It was the eighth consecutive quarter that the value of U.S. deals fell from a year earlier.

When companies are under even more shareholder scrutiny than usual, it is important to examine the factors that are correlated with deal success. This paper by KPMG LLP in consultation with Professor Steven Kaplan of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, explores the factors that are correlated with M&A deal success.

In addition to more commonly examined factors, such as financing options, the study looks at less frequently examined factors, such as deal motivation or rational.