Berkery Noyes, an independent middle market investment bank, today released its Full Year 2011 Mergers and Acquisitions trend report for Private Equity in the Information Industry.

The report analyzes merger and acquisition activity in 2011 and compares it with activity in 2009 and 2010. Berkery Noyes includes in this report transactions made by financially sponsored acquirers within the Information Industry – defined as media, software, and online companies – including acquisitions made by subsidiaries or platforms of private equity firms.

There were six individual Private Equity in Information deals that totaled over $1 billion each in 2011. The largest announced transaction for 2011 was Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Technology Crossover Ventures, and Silver Lake Partners’ announced acquisition of GoDaddy.com for $2.25 billion.

The most active acquirer by volume in 2011 was Vista Equity Partners with 19 transactions. Nine of these were announced or closed in the Fourth Quarter of 2011: VaultWare, 360Facility, Beyond Compliance, AngelPoints, Mitratech, Emerging Information Systems, Rainmaker Software, Bostonpost Technology, and PowerPath.

Total transaction volume in 2011 increased 16 percent over 2010, from 336 in 2010 to 389 in 2011.

“Although deal volume involving PE fluctuated throughout 2011, our data does present a healthy year to year improvement,” said Berkery Noyes Managing Partner John Shea. “Both the value and volume of deals have shown an average of 20% growth for three years in a row, which is heartening to see. Let’s hope this trend continues and is an early indicator of an improving overall economy.”

Based on value, Apax Partners was one of the largest financial acquirers in the Information Industry in 2011, with over $2.5 billion in transaction value. Apax Partners had three of the top ten 2011 deals by value; two of these were in technology and telecommunications. In addition, several notable transactions such as Golden Gate Capital’s acquisition of Lawson Software, Bain Capital’s acquisition of MYOB Limited, and Vista Equity Partners’ acquisition of Mitratech highlighted the strength of M&A in the business management and application software space.

A copy of the FULL YEAR 2011 PRIVATE EQUITY IN THE INFORMATION INDUSTRY MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS REPORT is available at the Berkery Noyes website.