GREELEY – Merger and acquisitions activity in the country shows improvement thanks to lower interest rates and pent-up desires to spend what experts call “dry powder.” Rupprecht listed several factors affecting M&A activity, including:Lower interest rates that reduce financing costs. Total deal value has increased, although the number of deals nationwide and in North America remain below what occurred in 2021 when pandemic “right-sizing” activity spiked M&A activity. Industries such as information technology, he noted, account for a sixth of deal count but a quarter of deal value. “We’re feeling solid about the back half of the year,” Rupprecht said, summarizing the M&A activity in three points:Capital has gotten cheaper.