Q1 2021 Software Industry Trends

Software transaction volume increased 19 percent over the past three months, from 631 to 754. This was its peak during the last five quarters. Aggregate value declined 14 percent on a quarterly basis, from $90.4 billion to $77.9 billion. This followed a 43 percent rise in value during Q4 2020. Compared to Q1 2020, volume gained 26 percent and value more than doubled.

Deal volume in the Niche Software segment, which is targeted to specific vertical markets, improved 21 percent over Q4 2020. This was the sector’s third consecutive quarterly rise. Regarding value, two of the industry’s top three largest transactions during Q1 2021 occurred in the segment: Optum’s announced merger with Change Healthcare Corporation, which provides data and analytics driven solutions to improve clinical, financial, and patient engagement outcomes in the U.S. healthcare system, for $13.4 billion; and Broadridge Financial Solutions’ acquisition of Itiviti, which offers electronic trading platforms and connectivity solutions, for $2.5 billion.

M&A activity in the Business Software segment, which consists of software designed for general business practices and not specific industry markets, increased 33 percent from Q4 2020 to Q1 2021. The segment’s largest deal year-to-date was Thoma Bravo’s announced acquisition of Talend, a data integration and integrity company, for $2.5 billion.

Additional Business Software deals that reached the top ten list of highest value transactions during the quarter were Citrix Systems’ announced acquisition of Wrike, a SaaS-based collaborative work management platform, for $2.3 billion; and TA Associates and Partners Group Holdings’ announced acquisition of Unit4, which offers cloud-based ERP, HCM, and FP&A enterprise software, for $2 billion.

As for other industry sectors, volume in both the Infrastructure Software and Consumer Software segments remained about constant.