2013 Key Highlights

  • For the third consecutive year, the industry’s most active acquirer was WPP Group, plc. WPP completed 34 transactions in 2013.
  • There were 452 financially sponsored transactions in 2013 with an aggregate value of 49.39 billion, representing 13 percent of the total volume and 26 percent of the total value, respectively.

2013 Key Trends

  • Total transaction volume in 2013 increased by two percent over 2012, from 3,538 to 3,613. As for the industry’s horizontal markets, Online & Mobile had the largest rise in volume with an eight percent increase.
  • Total transaction value in 2013 rose by 17 percent over 2012, from $157.25 billion to $184.63 billion.
  • The median revenue multiple improved from 1.8x in 2012 to 2.1x in 2013. The median EBITDA multiple moved slightly from 9.9x in 2012 to 10.3x in 2013.

M&A Market Overview

Berkery Noyes tracked 10,524 Information Industry transactions between 2011 and 2013, of which 2,946 disclosed financial terms, and calculated the aggregate value to be $405.63 billion. Based on known transaction values, we project values of 7,578 undisclosed transactions to be $105.08 billion, totaling $510.72 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 2.0x revenue and 10.3x EBITDA.

The largest deal between 2011 and 2013 was Publicis Groupe SA’s announced merger with Omnicom Group Inc. in 2013, with an acquisition price of $20.5 billion.

Out of 10,524 deals tracked by Berkery Noyes during the last 36 months, transactions valued at $20 million and above garnered a median enterprise value multiple of 3.0x revenue. In contrast, companies with transaction values between $10 million and $20 million captured a median enterprise value multiple of 1.6x revenue.