Q1 2019 Online & Mobile Industry Trends

Online & Mobile transaction volume saw a two percent uptick over the past three months, from 764 to 779. Deal value declined 17 percent, from $55.7 billion to $46.2 billion, which was the same as its Q3 2018 level. M&A activity improved 19 percent and value gained 44 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Deal volume in the SaaS & Cloud segment rose 11 percent on a quarterly basis. High profile segment transactions in the finance vertical year-to-date included Thoma Bravo’s announced acquisition of Ellie Mae, a software provider for the residential mortgage sector, for $3.7 billion; and BlackRock’s announced acquisition of eFront, an alternative investment management software and solutions provider, for $1.3 billion.

The number of transactions in the mobile application sector decreased 13 percent over Q4 2018 but improved seven percent year-over-year. The largest mobile related deal in Q1 2019 was Uber’s announced acquisition of Middle Eastern rival Careem for $3.1 billion. This was the highest value acquisition ever completed by Uber and occurred as the ride-hailing giant prepares for an imminent IPO.

E-Marketing & Search volume fell 27 percent in Q1 2019. This followed a seven percent increase in Q4 2018. Cision was a notable segment acquirer during the quarter with the acquisitions of TrendKite, a digital PR platform, for $221 million; and Falcon.io, a social media management company, for $126 million.

As for other select industry markets, E-Content volume increased 45 percent in Q1 2019, making it the sector with the largest rise in M&A activity over the past three months. E-Commerce deal activity declined five percent during this timeframe but gained 18 percent relative to Q1 2018.