Dear Clients & Friends,
The end of another year is almost upon us. Below is a link to our December 2011 Market Update. As you will see, it provides our latest sense of M&A values, activity and trends for the dozen plus technology, information and healthcare sectors that we follow.
Click here for our Market Update
We hope your year has been happy, healthy and prosperous. So far, for many, this has been a year with strong multiples and volumes but generally at levels somewhat below those of a year ago. There are plenty of bright spots, including a recent uplift in transaction volume, and the continuing trend of strategics and financial sponsors showing a willingness to pay reasonable values for complementary firms that show scale, growth, and proprietary technology.
As recent examples:
- Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE) for $1.3Bn;
- VeriFone acquired Global Bay Mobile Technologies (price not disclosed);
- VeriFone also agreed to acquire Point International from Nordic Capital for €760M ≈ $1,018M;
- Clear2Pay acquired ISTS Worldwide (price not disclosed);
- Clear2Pay also agreed to acquire Level Four Software (price not disclosed);
- HMS Holdings agreed to acquire HealthDataInsights for $400M;
- Best Buy agreed to acquire mindSHIFT Technologies for $167M;
- Pearson agreed to acquire Global Education & Technology Group for $155M;
- Patsystems announced interest from largest shareholder, ION Trading, for £29M ≈ $45M;
- JPMorgan Chase agreed to acquire an additional stake in The London Metal Exchange (LME) from MF Global for £27M≈ $42M; and
- Bank of New York Mellon acquired Penson Financial Services Australia from Penson Worldwide for AUD$33M ≈ $34M.
There are plenty of other examples in the pages that follow.
This has been a strong year for us – our strongest ever – and we thank our clients and friends for their support. We added staff; opened an office in Hong Kong and advised on some significant transactions. Marlin & Associates is now one of the most active investment banking firms providing strategic and financial advice to worldwide buyers and sellers of middle-market technology firms.
We are humbled to have so many companies put their faith and confidence in us; pleased to see so many of our transactions completed; and always honored when our hard work is recognized by our peers.
We wish you happy, healthy holidays, and for the New Year: Renewed Strength, Fun Times, and a Bit of Adventure.
Sincerely,
Kenneth B. Marlin
Managing Partner
- Middle-Market Deal-of-the-Year;
- Corporate and Strategic Acquisition-of-the-Year;
- Financial Services Deal-of-the-Year;
- Information Technology Deal-of-the-Year;
- Entertainment & Media Deal-of-the-Year;
- International M&A Deal of-the-Year.