Bankers and insiders say M&A action is heating up

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There have been various mergers and acquisitions in the aerospace sector since the start of the year, but deal activity is only just picking up.

I spoke to bankers, private equity partners and investors this week to do a candid health check on the industry’s M&A activity, and there’s a fairly unanimous consensus. As one financier put it: “The dominoes are starting to fall.”

“It’s a normal market cycle,” said another financier, with the pendulum swinging in the direction of a shakeout: “A lot of weaker companies are going out of business and there’s been a lot of consolidation.”

“We’re early on calculating actual demand versus hype,” said a third.

Most people I spoke with expected this period of company sales or closures to last 12 months, barring unexpected and wild swings in macroeconomic conditions. CNBC agreed to keep their identities confidential so they can speak freely about non-public discussions and opinions.

“Many of these startups that have emerged over the past few years will see the wall in front of them and probably sell before then,” said another financier.

At the top of the M&A market, multiple bankers told me that the United Launch Alliance — a joint venture between the two companies lockheed martin and Boeing —Continuing to shop around while packaging giant reportedly ball is looking to sell its aerospace subsidiary. ULA referred my request for comment on the sale process to Boeing and Lockheed. A Ball Aerospace spokesman declined to comment.

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