1ST HALF 2014 KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • The largest transaction during 1st Half 2014 was Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. and CVC Capital Partners’ acquisition of Advantage Sales and Marketing for $4.2 billion.
  • There were 99 financially sponsored transactions with an aggregate value of $18.92 billion, representing 12 percent of the total volume and 38 percent of the total value, respectively.

1ST HALF 2014 KEY TRENDS

  • Total transaction volume in 1st Half 2014 decreased by three percent over 2nd Half 2013, from 879 to 850.
  • Total transaction value in 1st Half 2014 increased by nine percent over 2nd Half 2013, from $45.80 billion to $49.78 billion.
  • The median revenue multiple declined from 2.0x in 2nd Half 2013 to 1.4x in 1st Half 2014. The median EBITDA multiple moved slightly from 8.9x in 2nd Half 2013 to 8.3x in 1st Half 2014.
  • The segment with the largest rise in volume in 1st Half 2014over 2nd Half 2013 was Marketing with a seven percent increase, from 284 to 305 transactions.
  • Six of the top ten highest value transactions in 1st Half 2014 reached the $1 billion threshold.
  • The Internet Media segment saw a 41 percent rise in deal value, from $5.61 billion to $7.93 billion.

M&A Market Overview

Berkery Noyes tracked 4,214 Media & Marketing transactions between 2012 and 1st Half 2014, of which 987 disclosed financial terms, and calculated the aggregate transaction value to be $151.62 billion. Based on known transaction values, we project values of 3,227 undisclosed transactions to be $46.12 billion, totaling $197.74 billion worth of transactions tracked over the past two and a half years.

Disclosed median enterprise value multiples for all segments combined in this report during the last 30 months were 1.7x revenue and 8.9x EBITDA.