In Finland, the first half of the year 2008 was relatively
active within the M&A field. However, according to the weekly
magazine, Talouselämä, during the second half of the year
2008, the number of the published deals was decreased by 18 %
compared to the year 2007. Also KPMG Finland stated that the entire
year underwent substantial calming as during January - September
2008, only 444 deals were made which equals 12 % drop compared to
2007. Thus the decrease in volumes was noticeable from the year
2007 as the effects of the current financial turbulence were
beginning to emerge.
In Finland, generally speaking, so far the credit crunch has
mainly affected only the financial sector, but during the second
half in 2008, its influence was expanding to other industries as
well. Larger buyout activity dropped off dramatically, while
mid-market deals still went ahead. For instance the paper industry
saw notable downsizings in 2008. Also, the real estate as well as
building
