Q3 2016 KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • The largest transaction in Q3 2016 was AOL Inc.’s announced acquisition of Yahoo’s core operating business for $4.8 billion. This deal doesn’t include Yahoo’s shares in Alibaba Group Holdings or Yahoo Japan.
  • There were 149 financially sponsored transactions in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2016 with an aggregate value of $20.9 billion, representing 11 percent of the total volume and 17 percent of the total value, respectively.

Q3 2016 KEY TRENDS

  • Total transaction volume in Q3 2016 declined by seven percent over Q2 2016, from 456 to 423.
  • Total transaction value in Q3 2016 fell 47 percent over Q2 2016, from $56.6 billion to $30.1 billion. This followed a nearly 50 percent rise in Q2 2016, which was the industry’s peak throughout the past seven quarters and mainly attributable to Microsoft’s announced acquisition of LinkedIn for $25.9 billion.

MULTIPLES & VALUE TRENDS

  • The median revenue multiple from 2015 through the 1st 3 Quarters of 2016 remained almost constant at 2.0x.
  • The median EBITDA multiple from 2015 through the 1st 3 Quarters of 2016 increased by 26 percent, from 8.7x to 11.0x.

TOP TEN DEALS THROUGH Q3 2016

The top ten deals by value have seen three new additions since our half year report, including two in the Entertainment segment: a Chinese consortium’s announced acquisition of Playtika for $4.4 billion and IMG Worldwide’s acquisition of Ultimate Fighting Championship for $4 billion.

These three transactions, with an aggregate value of $13.2 billion, represented 11 percent of transaction value in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2016 and 44 percent of Q3 2016 transaction value.