Q3 2021 Finance Industry Trends

Q3 2021 Key Highlights

The industry’s largest deal in Q3 2021 and year-to-date was PayU Group’s announced acquisition of BillDesk, a payments service provider based in India, for $4.7 billion.

Eight of the industry’s top ten highest value deals year-to-date were completed by strategic acquirers.

Q3 2021 Key Trends

Total transaction volume in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2021 increased by eight percent over the 1st 3 Quarters of 2020, from 369 to 397.

Total transaction value in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2021 declined by 41 percent over the 1st 3 Quarters of 2020, from $59.5 billion to $35.1 billion. Of note, there were three deals that reached the $10 billion threshold in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2020, compared to none in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2021.

The segment with the largest rise in volume in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2021 over the 1st 3 Quarters of 2020 was Insurance with a 37 percent gain, from 49 to 67 transactions.

Multiples & Value Trends

The median revenue multiple on a year-over-year basis rose by ten percent, from 3.0x to 3.3x, returning to its 2019 level.

Top Ten Deals Through Q3 2021

The top ten deals by value have seen four new additions since our half year report, two of which occurred in the Payments segment: the previously mentioned BillDesk acquisition for $4.7 billion; and Global Payments’ announced acquisition of MineralTree, which offers accounts payable automation and B2B payments solutions, for $500 million.

These four transactions, with an aggregate value of $9.7 billion, represented 28 percent of transaction value in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2021 and 61 percent of Q3 2021 transaction value.