August is a funny month. For much of the western world, it’s a time traditionally associated with the summer holiday; offering respite from the daily grind.

As a result, irrespective of whether you’re finding time to leave the desk, it’s almost inevitable that the inbox will get a little lighter and that the to do list starts to shrink.

And all in all, it’s really no bad thing. Particularly for those usually accustomed to a seemingly never ending stream of activity and commercial battles, as new ventures get shaped, developed and pushed.

It offers an opportunity to stop and think. It offers a chance to take a step back from the coalface and it offers a moment – just a moment – to pause and reflect.

Only here’s the thing. As the industry temporarily takes it foot off the gas and as the stream of company announcements and often all too excitable internal developments dial back, it would be a fallacy to think that everything’s stopped.

Far from it. And that’s particularly the case when it comes to the delicate issue of acquisitions – both in terms of individuals on the move and more broadly, in terms of the buying and selling of wind energy assets, pipelines and portfolios.

Indeed, in the last thirty days alone, we’ve already seen a host of key deals rise to the surface.

Take, for example, DONG Energy’s acquisition of three German wind farms from PNE. Or look to Velocita’s acquisition of a 450MW UK pipeline, in an unexpected deal with the team at 2020 Renewables.

However, this summer, it’s not just the acquisition of wind energy assets that has been generating the headlines and turning heads. Rather, it’s been the buying and selling of some of the businesses operating within the sector, that’s piqued interest.

The PMSS-TÜV SÜD deal is a case in point, but it’s by no means exclusive. And for many, it’s thought to be just the tip of the iceberg, particularly at a time when independent outfits look to enter the next phase of corporate evolution and growth.

For the buyer, these sorts of deals naturally offer a quick way in which to suck up market share, tap into an established client base and to cash in on many of the potential benefits of operating (and being seen to operate) in the sector.

However, not all marriages are supposed to be. And while we’ll undoubtedly see a rush to the altar from many rising stars over the final quarter of 2012 and into 2013, as some of the early sector acquisitions now demonstrate, there’s more to picking partners than the size of the cheque.