Nearly half of the corporate executive respondents to a recent McKinsey survey said that they were going to explore a higher number of deals next year than this. As many bankers will know from their Christmas shopping, however, there is a big difference between looking and buying

In a study titled Organising for M&A published yesterday, management consultancy McKinsey found that 47% of the more than 850 corporate executives who responded to the survey between October 4 and October 14 said they expected to explore a higher number of deals next year.