David McCully

Several representatives from BKD’s audit, tax, transaction services and corporate finance teams were present. Ed Crumm, national industry partner for BKD National Manufacturing & Distribution Group and transaction services team leader, was a panelist in the discussion “Life in the Lower Middle Market – A Niche Market.”

“The economic downturn caused many potential sellers to delay going to market, creating more buyers than sellers, and resulting in fewer deals, ” Crumm said. “However, as the economy shows signs of recovery, we have recently seen an increase in the number of middle-market transactions. I anticipate a better deal environment in 2010, potentially driven by tax-motivated selling in advance of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts on January 1, 2011.”

Speaker and breakout session topics included U.S. and global economic updates, capital markets updates, current trends in maximizing enterprise value and focused discussions on deal-making in the middle market. Featured speakers included Henry M. Paulson Jr., former Treasury secretary; Michael Hayden, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency; Martin Regalia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce chief economist; Dr. Arthur B. Laffer, founder and chairman of Laffer Associates; and Dr. Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.