Q3 2013 KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Yahoo! Inc. remained the most active acquirer with 20 transactions year-to-date. Seven of these deals occurred in Q3 2013.
  • The highest value transaction in Q3 2013 and the second largest year-to-date was Baidu.com, Inc.’s acquisition of 91 Wireless Websoft Limited, an app distribution platform, for $1.8 billion.
  • There were 190 financially sponsored transactions in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2013, with an aggregate value of $10.3 billion, representing 12 percent of the total volume and 24 percent of the total value, respectively.

Q3 2013 KEY TRENDS

  • Total transaction volume in Q3 2013 experienced an uptick over Q2 2013, from 541 to 549. This was the industry’s peak for volume during the past seven quarters.
  • Total transaction value in Q3 2013 declined by four percent over Q2 2013, from $17.0 billion to $16.3 billion.

MULTIPLES & VALUE TRENDS

  • The median revenue multiple from 2012 through the 1st 3 Quarters of 2013 moved slightly, from 2.3x to 2.2x.
  • The median EBITDA multiple from 2012 through the 1st 3 Quarters of 2013 increased by 20 percent, from 10.0x to 12.0x.

TOP TEN DEALS THROUGH Q3 2013

The top ten deals by value have seen four new additions since our half year report, two of which were backed by private equity firms: Thoma Bravo, LLC’s acquisition of Intuit Financial Services and Vista Equity Partners’ acquisition of The Active Network, Inc.

These four transactions, with an aggregate value of $4.6 billion, represented 11 percent of transaction value in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2013 and 28 percent of Q3 2013 transaction value.