2012 Key Highlights

  • IntercontinentalExchange’s announced acquisition of NYSE Euronext for $10.19 billion was the largest industry transaction during 2012.
  • There were 47 financially sponsored transactions with an aggregate value of $4.86 billion, representing 16 percent of the total volume and 16 percent of the total value, respectively.

2012 Key Trends

  • Total transaction volume in 2012 increased by seven percent over 2011, from 282 to 302.
  • Total transaction value in 2012 increased by 52 percent over 2011, from $19.84 billion to $30.23 billion. This was primarily due to IntercontinentalExchange’s announced acquisition of NYSE Euronext in 2012. Deutsche Börse Group had originally planned to merge with NYSE Euronext back in 2011.
  • The median revenue multiple improved from 2.6x in 2011 to 2.9x in 2012. The median EBITDA multiple rose from 11.5x to 11.9x.
  • The segment with the largest increase in volume in 2012 over 2011 was Payments with a 47 percent increase, from 66 to 97 transactions. Payments represented 32 percent of the industry’s aggregate transaction volume in 2012, compared to 23 percent in 2011.

M&A Market Overview

Berkery Noyes tracked 865 transactions between 2010 and 2012, of which 338 disclosed financial terms, and calculated the aggregate transaction value to be $61.03 billion. Based on known transaction values, we project values of 527 undisclosed transactions to be $10.42 billion, totaling $71.45 billion worth of transactions tracked over the past three years.

Disclosed median enterprise value multiples for all segments combined in this report during the last 36 months were 2.5x revenue and 12.3x EBITDA.

Based on volume, the most active market segment that Berkery Noyes tracked between 2010 and 2012 was Capital Markets with 293 transactions.