Global M&A still on course for record 2007-Thomson

LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Global mergers and acquisitions volumes are still on course to set a record in 2007 despite the recent slowdown in debt markets that has stifled the ability of buyout firms to raise cash, according to data from Thomson.

Global deal volumes in the third quarter of 2007 rose 17 percent as corporate activity stepped in to fill the void left by the buyout firms, Thomson said in the preliminary figures.

Year-on-year, the first nine months of 2007 saw a 37 percent increase in global M&A activity over the record year of 2006, to more than $3.5 billion.

However the volume of assets acquired by buyout firms fell by 66 percent in the quarter from the same period a year ago as such firms struggled to raise the cheap debt that had given them such an edge in auctions for the past few years.

U.S.-based investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) topped the global M&A rankings so far this year. It also held the number one position a year ago.