Is the fat lady coughing in M & A terms?

According to dealreporter, the number of live M & A deals in Europe has decreased from 62 in June 2007 to 19 this month. Live and expected deals have decreased from 86 to 34 in the same timeframe.

For Greenhill (GHL), shorts have been covered, but the percentage of the company's Market Cap on Loan (%MCOL, please see graph) is still significant at 23%, down from 26% on March 26th. The share price has bounced up from 70USD to 74USD since the beginning of this week. Greenhill is still 84% Utilised, which means that there is barely any stock available to borrow. The rest of the Russell 2000 is only 35% Utilised, and the rest of the North America Diversified Financials is 11% Utilised. For those investors wishing to buy back shares in GHL, there are 35.14 Days to Cover.

Investors may think that Evercore Partners' (EVR) share price will not fall any more - the %MCOL has decreased from 5.8% on February 27th to 4.4% today. The share price has rebounded from 17.2USD to 18.5USD since the beginning of the week. EVR is 32% Utilised, down from 38% on February 27th. The average Utilisation for the rest of the US Equity (Others) is 20%.

Piper Jaffray(PJC) meanwhile, has seen a decrease in the %MCOL since early January, down from 19% to 11% today. Nonetheless this is still a relatively high percentage. PJC is 25% Utilised and there are 7.02 Days to Cover. This company is in the same market and sector as Greenhill.

Rodman and Renshaw's (RODM) price has continued to fall, down from 3.2USD in early January to 1.5USD today.