Open source software (OSS) has emerged as a significant market disruptor in recent years. OSS serves as an alternative to commercial software licensing wherein the licensee does not need to pay for the license. This tends to make it particularly attractive to start-ups attempting to keep their costs down. However, the free use of the … Continue reading
In the first quarter of 2018, M&A activity across the world hit a 17 year record high according to Mergermarket’s Q1 2018 Global M&A Report. This is an 18 percent increase in value compared to the first quarter of 2017. This increase was affected by the surge in deal-making seen at the end of 2017 … Continue reading
A relentless parade of new technologies is unfolding on many fronts – one of which includes the M&A scene. While not every emerging technology will alter a business’ landscape, certain technologies have the potential to disrupt the status quo, alter the way companies operate and rearrange value pools. These “disruptive technologies” can quickly displace established … Continue reading
Voluminous information in M&A transactions M&A transactions can be time-intensive, often involving contract discovery and analysis, due diligence, data room preparation, verification of representations and warranties, privacy issues and multijurisdictional privacy legislation and intellectual property protection, among other important aspects. As deals become larger in value and scope, the review and analysis of the foregoing … Continue reading
According to Deloitte’s latest M&A trends report, corporations and private equity (PE) firms expect to see an acceleration of M&A activity in 2018, both in volume and size of deals, and with particular interest in technology assets and international markets. Key Findings After surveying more than 1,000 executives at corporations and PE firms on their … Continue reading
Over the past few years, we have seen a rising trend in digital technologies driving tech M&A deals for both tech and non-tech companies. Technology brings its own set of challenges to the M&A space. The following are some of the many differences between traditional and digital M&A: Wider target list: The list of targets … Continue reading
The impact of technology can be felt across virtually all sectors of the economy and real estate is no exception. In fact, technology affects all aspects of real estate from its procurement and development to its management and use. Real estate-specific technology is often aptly referred to as “RealTech”. Explaining RealTech The KPMG White Paper, … Continue reading
In a recent blog post, we explored the reasons why a sizable number of M&A deals fail to complete every year. As discussed in that post, the closing of an M&A deal does not necessarily announce the success of a transaction. In fact, as high as 60% of M&A deals fail to deliver value even after a … Continue reading
A new report by BCG asks the question of whether wading into tech deals can add value to companies. Based on BCG’s analysis of 37,000 tech acquisitions, the returns from such deals are mixed: about half generate positive returns for acquirers. This is the case regardless of whether the buyer itself is in the tech … Continue reading
Automotive technologies are evolving rapidly and impacting not only drivers’ automotive experiences but also, the automotive industry more broadly. From assistive technologies like bicycle sensors and back-up cameras to self-driving technologies, it appears that technological innovation will be critical in order for automotive companies to maintain their relevance and competitive edge in the marketplace. However, … Continue reading
As we have discussed in previous posts, the post-closing phase of an M&A deal can be a difficult one, with 30% of integration deals not achieving their revenue goals. Competing organizational structures, technology, and cultures between the integrating companies often decrease revenue and productivity. Our experience suggests that the following are helpful tips to facilitate … Continue reading
Earlier this year, we discussed the increasing use of technology in the M&A deal process. To recap, a recent Mergermarket study revealed that the use of technology and big data were likely factors in the increasing frequency of unsolicited bids and corresponding decrease in frequency of broad auctions. Building on our earlier discussion, we now … Continue reading
Blockchain technology has been making headlines since it emerged in 2009 in connection with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. We’ve covered the potential use of Bitcoin in M&A transactions in previous articles in 2016 and 2014. As discussed in these articles, the volatility and lack of central authority has so far meant that the cryptocurrency plays a … Continue reading
Technology is increasingly playing a bigger role in M&A deals, transforming the way transactions are priced, negotiated and completed. The use of different platforms is facilitating transmission of deal information to a wider group, and as a result, crucial stages in a deal can now be done remotely and simultaneously by several deal parties. Moving … Continue reading
KPMG LLP’s survey predicts M&A deal levels in 2017 will be steady from 2016, with the technology industry leading expectations for high activity. This follows from 2016’s profile for tech M&A deals, which had EY’s Global technology M&A report for Q3 2016 highlighting digital technologies as driving tech M&A deals for both tech and non-tech … Continue reading
While many people are still in shock after discovering that there is actually no human controlling the steering wheel in autonomous cars, tech companies, including Google, IBM, Yahoo, Intel and Apple, have found themselves in the middle of a gold rush for artificial intelligence (AI) companies. According to recent research by CB Insights, around 140 … Continue reading
M&A activity in the healthcare industry has been on an upwards trend since our last update. Good Foundations: Building Healthcare M&A and Real Estate, a report by Mergermarket on deal-making trends in the industry, found that about 90% of the respondents expect healthcare M&A to rise over the next year. The value of healthcare deals in … Continue reading
According to a report recently published by Ernst &Young (EY) entitled “Global technology M&A report: 1Q16 final look – Digital disruption, slow organic growth drive tech deals”, mergers & acquisitions in the global technology industry remained strong in Q1 2016, despite macroeconomic uncertainty particularly in the equity and debt markets. Interestingly, the deal volume in … Continue reading
Mergermarket recently released its 2015 full-year edition of Deal Drivers Americas (the Review). This comprehensive review of M&A activity in the Americas confirmed that 2015 was a year of mega-deals. Transactions involving giants such as Pfizer, Time Warner Cable, and Kraft contributed to an increase of 30% in M&A value, reaching a total of US$4.28 … Continue reading
Similarly to American M&A in the first half of 2015, the first half of 2015 was remarkably active on the global mergers and acquisitions front. According to a recent Mergermarket report, total deal value topped US$1.7 trillion. This represents an increase of 15.2% over the first six months of 2014, and only 15.4% behind the record-setting … Continue reading
In the month of May 2015, global mergers and acquisition activity was calm as deal value totalled US$348.1bn, which represents an increase of 14% since April 2015 and an increase of 27% over May 2014. However, total deal volume fell 8.5% since April and 30.9% compared to May of the previous year, with a total … Continue reading
Mergermarket published its M&A Monthly Insider for May of 2015 earlier this week, summarizing M&A activity around the world, and particularly in the regions of North America, Central and South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Japan. To date in North America, there have been 1,516 deals worth US $407.2 billion. April 2015 … Continue reading
Recently, RR Donnelley sought the assistance of Mergermarket Group to interview professionals in the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific about leveraged buyout financing. Mergermarket Group published its survey results on the environment of leveraged buyout financing in its April 2015 edition of the Venue Market Spotlight. Availability of buyout financing A majority of survey respondents indicates … Continue reading
EY has recently released the 12th edition of its annual Global Capital Confidence Barometer, a biannual survey of more than 1,600 executives of companies in 54 countries, assessing various metrics in global mergers and acquisitions. Although 2014 marked the single largest increase in M&A since the financial crisis of 2008, for the first time in … Continue reading