2011 Key Highlights

  • Blackstone Group LP’s acquisition of Emdeon, Inc., was the largest transaction for 2011, with an acquisition price of $3.03 billion.
  • Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. was the most active acquirer with five transactions: Haas & Healthcare Partner Public Relations, SanCom Creative Communication Solutions, Comprehensive Medical Billing Solutions, Inc., FleetEyes, LLC. and i3 Clinical Development Businesses from Ingenix, Inc.
  • There were 63 financially sponsored transactions with an aggregate value of $4.65 billion, representing 22 percent of the total volume and 45 percent of the total value, respectively.

2011 Key Trends

  • Total transaction volume in 2011 increased by 15 percent over 2010, from 255 in 2010 to 292 this year.
  • Total transaction value in 2011 decreased by 9 percent over 2010, from $11.42 billion in 2010 to $10.38 billion this year.
  • The median revenue multiple declined from 2.0x in 2010 to 1.6x in 2011, while the median EBITDA multiple decreased from 11.6x to 9.0x.
  • The segment with the largest increase in volume in 2011 over 2010 was Medical Information with a 31 percent increase from 16 transactions in 2010 to 21 transactions in 2011.

M&A Market Overview

Berkery Noyes tracked 789 transactions between 2009 and 2011, of which 273 disclosed financial terms, and calculated the aggregate transaction value to be $29.15 billion. Based on known transaction values, we project values of 516 undisclosed transactions to be $3.75 billion, totaling $32.90 billion worth of transactions tracked over the past three years.

The most active acquirer by volume between 2009 and 2011 was UnitedHealth Group with 11 transactions.

Based on value, the most active market segment that Berkery Noyes tracked between 2009 and 2011 was Healthcare IT with $10.25 billion worth of transactions.