Last year, M&A in the technology sector came very close to the record-breaking highs of 2015. Companies looking to acquire new technologies helped to create a blockbuster third quarter, which amounted to 550 deals worth US$146.6bn. Top tech deals of 2016 included Qualcomm’s US$47bn acquisition of NXP semiconductors; SoftBank’s US$31.6bn acquisition of ARM Holdings; and Microsoft’s US$26bn acquisition of LinkedIn. After a solid year of M&A activity within the technology sector, dealmakers agree that the market is set to reach even higher levels in 2017.

 

In order to gain an understanding of the opportunities and challenges within the technology sector for the year ahead, Donnelley Financial Solutions commissioned Mergermarket to interview 25 global dealmakers from across the corporate, private equity, and investment banking communities for their views.

 

Key findings of this report include:

 

Competition for assets continues to rise and acquirers are finding themselves paying more for their targets. With insight into M&A strategy more sought-after than ever, new sources of information can be particularly valuable. One growing source is the academic research community, which is exploring areas such as the “performance persistence” of acquirers, how to evaluate the advantages of different types of deal advisors, and the relative advantages of buying early or late in an M&A cycle.

 

The findings of academic research into M&A can provide useful insight, but how do they match up with the real-world experience of deal advisors? In order to understand what veteran dealmakers think about this research, Vintage in collaboration with Mergermarket spoke to four leading experts, as well as an M&A researcher, for their views.

 

 

Mergermarket is pleased to release the full-year edition of Deal Drivers Americas, in association with Merrill Corporation. This report provides an in-depth review of M&A activity for the full year of 2016, offering insights into how announced deals of FY 2016 will impact M&A for the year ahead.

 

 

Global private equity buyouts reached a five-year high in 2016, totaling 2,765 deals valued at US$399.4bn. With capital growth accelerating and competition for quality targets increasing, dealmakers are forecasting a flurry of buyout activity in the year ahead.

 

In order to gain a full understanding of private equity buyout activity in 2017, Donnelley Financial Solutions along with Mergermarket interviewed global dealmakers for insight on what types of buyouts and in which sectors we will see the most activity.

 

Key findings include:

 

The fund management space saw a flurry of M&A activity in 2016 with 303 deals globally worth US$43.3bn. While activity in 2017 is expected to increase, dealmakers face new potential obstacles in the form of the Trump administration’s changes to financial regulations and a growing number of technology firms seeking to automate portfolio management.

 

Toppan Vite, a trusted financial printing and communications company, in partnership with Mergermarket, is pleased to present the newest edition of M&A Pulse. This newsletter features responses from US-based senior dealmakers who were interviewed on the current and future state of the asset management and mutual fund market.

 

 

 

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Market observers predict an increase for M&A in Canada’s oil & gas sector for 2017. Key drivers for sector activity include the search for new technologies to reduce costs and emissions as well as ongoing interest from E&P and private equity firms.

 

In order to examine the upcoming trends and opportunities within the Canadian oil & gas sector, Torys LLP commissioned Mergermarket to interview senior Canadian corporate executives and investment bankers for their insights.

 

 

Mergermarket is pleased to present the Baltic M&A Monitor, in association with Ellex. This report provides a detailed look at M&A activity in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, along with forecasts for the year ahead. Consistent deal activity has characterised M&A in the Baltics in 2016. Deal volume across all three countries is up 24% year-on-year to 63 deals, the highest point in Mergermarket history. Value increased 17% to €716m over the same period. While this increase in value is more modest, it indicates renewed enthusiasm for M&A in the region. In 2016, investor confidence was high, and companies are actively pursuing growth through M&A.

 

 

The insurance industry is facing disruption in a variety of forms. New technologies, new competitors, new markets, new regulations, and changing consumer behaviors all offer tremendous opportunities and significant risk to the industry’s legacy business model. This has caused participants to reevaluate their business portfolio and change their strategic objectives, leading experts to conclude that the global insurance industry will soon face a wave of M&A.

 

To find out how this shift towards strategy-aligned M&A is influencing deal activity in the insurance industry, KPMG commissioned Mergermarket to interview 200 insurance M&A decision-makers across all segments and regions.

 

 

Mergermarket is pleased to present Dealmakers: Mid-market M&A in Australia 2017, published in association with Pitcher Partners. Total Australian M&A activity in 2016 closed 12% higher on the prior year, due mainly to a flurry of activity in the last quarter, despite global trends which saw a decline in deal activity of 4%. The nation’s mid-market saw a decline of 17%, with a strong finish towards the end of the year providing solid activity pipelines into 2017. This upswing in mid-market activity experienced in the last quarter of 2016 is expected to continue well into 2017. Current run-rates suggest deal volumes for the first half could be up by 30%-40% on 2016.

 

 

Overall M&A activity in 2016 may have fallen short of 2015’s record highs, but dealmaking in the pharma and biotech sector remained consistent. Mid-market activity in this sector showed the most resilience last year, producing 98 deals among pharma and biotech companies in North America. Top targets included Derma Sciences at US$172m, Sentynl Therapeutics at US$171m, and Savara Inc. at US$115m. With deals already in the pipeline and a new year ahead, will the sector continue to hold its ground? Mergermarket, in association with Firmex, a virtual data room provider, interviewed four experienced dealmakers to find out the dynamics at play for North America’s pharma and biotech sector in the year ahead.