Dear Clients and Friends:
Welcome to the New Year.
Please find our January 2017 M&A Market Update here. It covers m&a trends in the dozen+ information technology sectors that we follow – and sometimes lead.
Last year was a strong one for mid-market infotech m&a. We’re still looking good. A week or so ago, in our Fintech Market update, I noted that, in spite of the rise of populism and Russia, the mess in the Middle East, the uncertainty of Donald Trump, Brexit and what may be the beginning of the end of a united Europe, interest rates have remained low, equity markets have reached record highs, businesses have continued to grow, and many investors are flush with cash.
Innovation is all around us: The Internet of Things; platform architectures, big data analytics; distributed ledgers; AI; cloud computing; enhanced networks and mobile technology; social platforms; cybersecurity and more all combine to make it easier and more affordable for people to find and buy cars, homes, insurance, or fund a college education – or a business. Investor confidence remains high. And that’s important.
In November, our Stephen Shankman had a great blog post on one key to investor confidence – “It’s all about Trust”. Our COO Jason Panzer reinforced that theme in his blog post last month on “The Value of Predictability Combined with Growth.” We hate drama. Last week, my partner Michael Maxworthy had another great blog post on a different theme – “Time Kills All Deals”. It’s true too.
Trust, predictability and momentum are all equally important in getting deals done. Once you lose any of them it’s really tough to recover. We’ve seen it too many times. (To subscribe to our blog, click here.)
As 2017 begins, our clients continue to have faith in a bright future. As long as that momentum continues, good deals will get done and we’ll continue to help. A few of the more interesting recent deals include:
- Golden Gate agreed to acquire Neustar (NYSE:NSR) for $2.9bn valuing the Company at an implied 2.5x LTM revenue and 6.8x LTM EBITDA,
- Roper Technologies (Sarasota, FL) agreed to acquire Deltek for $2.8bn,
- Synchronoss Technologies (Nasdaq:SNCR) agreed to acquire Intralinks for $854mm (2.9x LTM Revenue),
- Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane (Milan, Italy) acquired Bassilichi, valuing the Company at €230mm ($245mm),
- Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE) acquired ISCS for $160mm,
- SS&C (Nasdaq:SSNC) acquired Conifer Financial Services for $89mm,
- FactSet (NYSE:FDS) acquired Vermilion Software for $67mm.
For a more complete picture of deals, trends and values in the dozen+ sectors that we follow, please see our January 2017 M&A Market Update here.
We look forward to working with you in the New Year.
