Q3 2010 Online & Mobile Industry Trends

The most active acquirer through Q3 2010 was Google Inc. with 18 acquisitions, 10 of which occurred within Q3 2010. Google had acquired additional entities through Q3 2010, but only the 18 were properly classified as within the Online Industry.
The largest transaction for Q3 2010 was KKR’s acquisition of Visma ASA, a subsidiary of HgCapital, for $1.9 billion.

Total transaction volume in Q3 2010 increased by 11 percent over Q2 2010, from 269 to 298 transactions.
Total transaction value in Q3 2010 increased by 52 percent over Q2 2010, from $11.2 billion to $17.1 billion, due in large part to a number of very high value transactions, as shown in Figure 3.

Median EBITDA multiples decreased from 11.4 to 9.2, a 19 percent decrease, yet median revenue multiples rose from 1.5 to 1.8, a 20 percent increase.
Median value has made significant gains, due in large part to the strong value of transactions in Q3 2010.

The top ten deals by value have shifted considerably since our half year report, with 6 acquisitions entering the list from Q3 2010: KKR’s acquisition of Visma ASA, Bain Capital and Advent International Corporation’s acquisition of RBS WorldPay, Inc., Google Inc.’s acquisition of ITA Software, Internet Brands Inc.’s acquisition by Hellman & Friedman LLC, The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Playdom, Inc., and Roper Industries, Inc.’s acquisition of iTradeNetwork, Inc.
These 6 transactions represent 18 percent of transaction value through the first nine months of 2010, and 51 percent of the transaction value of the top ten transactions.