Software M&A Review
Up-to-date overviews and insightful analysis of the latest M&A's in the software industry.
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Software M&A Insights: Mergers and Acquisitions: The Q309 Numbers
Published: November 2009
Domestic M&A deal activity and spending both
improved in the third quarter (3Q09) M&A transaction
volume across all US industry sectors aggregated
2,141 deals, a 6% increase over 2Q09’s 2,012
transactions, but still 27% lower than the same
quarter last year. M&A spending in 3Q09 increased
from the prior quarter, but was down year-over-year.
The total price tag of $144 billion in 3Q09 marks a
38% increase from 2Q09’s $104 billion, and a 55%
decline from 3Q08’s $317 billion dollar M&A spend. |
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Software M&A Insights: Infrastructure and Applications Software Still Find Buyers
Published: July 2009
Buyers in the infrastructure and applications software markets continue to remain. Deals highlighted this month include Infor’s acquisition of SoftBrands, a leading provider of mid-market ERP software; Intel’s acquisition of WindRiver, a developer of operating systems and middleware software and the leveraged buy-out of MSC Software, a provider of engineering simulation software to product manufacturers. |
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The Current Software M&A Climate: Software Sellers Have Left the Building
Published: May 2009
Software M&A deal volume has declined sharply and median exit valuations have plunged. For many private software companies, it’s a buyer’s market, and today is undeniably the wrong time to sell. But a good number of others could exit today at a superb valuation, and we have the data to prove it. Problem is, these highly opportune prospective sellers, beaten down by the relentless flood of economic bad news and lower median software valuations, refuse to leave the storm shelter and come to the table! |
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What Do You Do Now?
Published: April 2009
Mention at a cocktail party that you own and run a software company and people are still impressed – at least in places outside Silicon Valley. Software is clean, high-tech, sexy – and filled with storybook millionaires. However it may appear to outsiders, software is a tough business. Most software entrepreneurs are bootstrapped, with little or no outside capital. There’s fierce competition, and cost-conscious customers that place real pressure on prices and margins. |
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Deals Active Despite Macro-Economic Turmoil
Published: March 2009
Amid deepening macro-economic turmoil, M&A software buyers continue to remain active in 1Q09. Deals highlighted this month include Autonomy’s acquisition of Interwoven, a leading provider of content management solutions, Dealertrack’s acquisition of automotive in-store inventory management system, American Auto Exchange and Meetic’s acquisition of Match.com’s European online dating service assets. |
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How Will the Software Industry Fare the Worst Recession in 80 Years?
Published: February 2009
Frozen credit markets, plunging stock markets,
mounting unemployment, slashed IT spending…what does
it portend for the software industry? Can the
software sector avoid the wave of forced buyouts,
bailouts and bankruptcies that have upended the
automotive, financial services, housing and retail
sectors? We believe so. |
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Software M&A Insights: An Active 4Q08
Published: January 2009
Amid heightened economic uncertainty, M&A software
buyers continued to remain active in 4Q08, but
focused on smaller transactions. Deals highlighted
this month include Autodesk’s acquisition of ALGOR,
a leading provider of analysis and simulation
software for mechanical engineers; ECI Partners
leveraged buy-out of Ascribe Plc, a UK-based
provider of healthcare management applications and
Experian’s acquisition of healthcare payment
prediction data and analytics software provider
SearchAmerica. |
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Q3 2008 Software Industry Mergers and Acquisitions
Published: December 2008
A complimentary copy of Software Equity Group’s full
3Q08 Software Industry Equity Report, which analyzes
software industry public company stock market
performance, initial public offerings, mergers and
acquisitions, and venture capital and private equity
financings, can be downloaded by visiting
www.softwareequity.com. |
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Software M&A Insights: Deals Going Strong in 4Q08
Published: November 2008
Amid significant macroeconomic turmoil, M&A deal
activity within the software sector continues to
show strength in 4Q08. Deals highlighted this month
include eBay’s acquisition of Bill Me Later, a
leading provider of digital payments solutions;
Hewlett Packard’s purchase of mid-market storage
management software vendor LeftHand Networks and
Oracle’s acquisition of Primavera, the largest
pure-play provider of project portfolio management
software.
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Mergers & Acquisitions: Flash
Report
Published: October 2008
The Software Equity Group Flash Report provides an overview of financial and
stock market performance for different public software companies, public SaaS
companies and public Internet companies along with selected M&A transactions.
Notable names among acquirers included McAfee (acquired Secure Computing Corp.),
Polaris (acquired SEEC, Inc.) and Adobe (acquired YaWah ApS) – to name a few.
Read the full report to keep on top of trends and recent M&A activity. |
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Software M&A Insights: 3Q08 Continues to Impress
Published: September 2008
M&A deal activity within the software sector has continued to impress thus far
in 3Q08. Deals highlighted this month include Hellman & Friedman’s leveraged
buy-out of SSP Holdings; IBM’s tuck-in acquisition of ILOG, JDA Software’s
purchase i2 Technologies and OpenText’s acquisition of Captaris. |
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Q2 2008 Software Mergers and Acquisitions: Showing a Healthy Trend
Published: August 2008
It appears the healthy pace of software spending in 1H08 will continue for the
balance of 2008, a trend that bodes well for both public and private software
providers. According to most IT spending forecasts, domestic IT capital spending
will increase about 5% in 2008, compared to 7% in 2007. |
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Software M&A Insights: Q2 Deals
Published: July 2008
M&A deal activity within the software sector continued to outpace all other
industries in 2Q08. Here is an in-depth look into the deals that made it to the
second quarter of year. |
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1Q08 Software Industry Mergers and Acquisitions
Published: May 2008
A complementary copy of Software Equity Group’s full 1Q08 Software Industry
Equity Report, which analyzes software industry public company stock market
performance, initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and venture
capital and private equity financings, can be downloaded by visiting
www.softwareequity.com. |
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Software M&A Insights: Deals Continue to Impress
Published: April 2008
Amid deepened recessionary fears, M&A deal activity within the software sector
continues to impress. Deals highlighted this month include BMC’s acquisition of
BladeLogic, a provider of data center automation solutions; Microsoft’s
acquisition of struggling enterprise search provider Fast Search & Transfer;
Oracle’s acquisition of BEA Systems, the largest remaining pure-play middleware
player and SolarSoft’s acquisition of manufacturing ERP vendor Chelford Group
among others. |
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Software M&A Insights: Profitable Deals
Published: November 2007
Deals highlighted this month include IBM’s acquisition of Cognos, the largest
remaining pure-play business intelligence vendor; Nokia’s acquisition of NAVTEQ,
a developer of mobile and internet mapping technologies; and Omniture’s merger
with Visual Sciences, both SaaS providers of web analytics |
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Software M&A: Deals Get More Impressive
Published: October 2007
M&A Deal activity within the software sector continues its torrid pace. Deals
highlighted this month include Autonomy’s acquisition of Zantaz in the content
archiving space, Fiserv’s acquisition of financial e-commerce software and
services provider CheckFree, Google’s acquisition of Postini in the red-hot
security and compliance arena, Megasoft’s acquisition of struggling telecom
billing and payment software and services provider Boston Communications Group,
Nice Systems’ acquisition of Actimize, a provider of transactional risk
management software, and The Sage Group’s acquisition of payroll and human
resource management software provider Creative Software. |
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Software M&A – Software
M&A: Acquisition Spree Continues
Published: August 2007
M&A Deal activity within the software sector continues its torrid pace. Deals
highlighted this month include Autonomy’s acquisition of Zantaz in the content
archiving space, Fiserv’s acquisition of financial e-commerce software and
services provider CheckFree, Google’s acquisition of Postini in the red-hot
security and compliance arena, Megasoft’s acquisition of struggling telecom
billing and payment software and services provider Boston Communications Group,
Nice Systems’ acquisition of Actimize, a provider of transactional risk
management software, and The Sage Group’s acquisition of payroll and human
resource management software provider Creative Software. |
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Software M&A – Software
M&A: Acquisition Season in Full Bloom
Published: July 2007
M&A Deal activity within the software sector continues its torrid pace. Deals
highlighted this month include Birdstep Technology’s acquisitions of
ServiceFactory AB and Secgo Software in the mobile workforce management space;
Experian’s acquisition of Hitwise in the burgeoning online advertising market;
Mediasurface’s acquisition of Immediacy within web content management;
Microsoft’s acquisition of digital marketing and services company aQuantive and
Quest’s acquisition of ScriptLogic, a provider of systems lifecycle management
solutions to the growing SME market. |
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Software M&A – Software
M&A: Deals Heat Up
Published: June 2007
M&A Deal activity within the software sector continues its torrid pace. Deals
highlighted this month include Battery Ventures’ private equity buyout of
Quovadx in the SOA software and services category; Business Objects’ acquisition
of Inxight, a high flying unstructured data access and analysis developer;
DealerTrak’s acquisition of Arkona within the automotive vertical; Invensys’
acquisition of Cimnet within the manufacturing veritcal; Oracle’s continued
acquisition spree, this time its Agile Software in the PLM category; and
Pearson’s acquisition of eCollege within the education software vertical. |
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Software M&A – Software
M&A Insights
Published: May 2007
The opening months of 2007 saw a continuation of the momentum that characterized
the software industry in the closing months of 2006. Buyers sought strategic
acquisitions in response to market demands and competing players. Deals
highlighted this month include Business Objects’ acquisition of Cartesis to stay
competitive against a combined Oracle/Hyperion; CAE’s acquisition of Engenuity
in the aerospace and defense vertical. |
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Software M&A – Q1 Report:
Software M&A up by 43%
Published: April 2007
In North America, 425 M&A transactions were posted in 1Q07 in the software and
IT services sector, virtually identical to the 426 deals posted in 1Q06.
Aggregate M&A spending, however, increased by a remarkable 92% over the same
quarter last year. Software deals fetched $26.3 billion in 1Q07, compared to a
total of $13.7 billion in 1Q06. Looking at the trailing twelve months, software
M&A is up 43% year-over-year partly due to the spate of larger deals. Find out
more about 1Q07’s more notable software M&A transactions.
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Software M&A – Highest Ever Deals in 2006
Published: February 2007
2006 established new benchmarks for domestic M&A activity across all industry sectors, beating the aggregate M&A purchase price and M&A deal volume records set in 1999 and 2000, respectively. 4Q06 chalked up 3,116 transactions, aggregating $471.7 billion, bringing the tally for domestic M&A activity to 11,701 transactions totaling $1.47 trillion. According to Dealogic, the total value of acquisitions worldwide reached $3.46 trillion for the year, beating 2000’s record of $3.33 trillion. Dow Jones estimates technology mergers and acquisitions worldwide were $215 billion in 2006.
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Software M&A – Robust Projections for 2007
Published: December 2006
M&A momentum continued to build in November, virtually assuring total M&A deal volume and dollars spent in 2006 will beat 2005’s tally. With 2007 IT spending growth projected to mimic the 6%-7% range of 2006, it is expected that M&A activity will remain robust throughout the coming year as buyers look to diversify into new product areas, verticals, and markets.
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Software M&A - A Buoyed Q3
Published: November 2006
Despite a weakening housing market, a struggling domestic auto industry and surging energy prices, which didn’t begin their sharp descent until the quarter’s close, the U.S. economy remained relatively healthy in the third quarter of 2006. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a key economic indicator and broadest measure of economic activity, is projected to grow at an annualized rate of 2.8% in 3Q06, up from 2Q06’s GDP of 2.5%, but still markedly lower than 1Q06’s rate of 5.6%
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Software M&A – 3Q Beats Entire 1H Spend
Published: October 2006
Software led all other industry sectors in total deal activity for 3Q06. Though the total number of software M&A transactions remained relatively flat (438 total deals) compared to 1Q06 and 2Q06, there was an astonishing $30.5 billion spent on M&A transactions in 3Q06, more than the entire first half of 2006 ($25.9 billion). The quarter’s impressive total was boosted by six mega-deals. The median valuation of software industry M&A transactions in 3Q06 was 2.7x, on par with 3Q05 (2.7x) and an increase over 2Q06 (2.3x).
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Software M&A – Q3 Mega Deals
Published: September 2006
With two exceptions, deals profiled this month are characterized by increasing multiples, as buyers dig deep in their pockets to access new markets or fend off competition. EMC pays a hefty premium to pick up a strategic enhancement that opens a higher growth and a higher margin market. Francisco enters the security sector at a bargain basement price. Hewlett Packard enhances its software offering with its acquisition of Mercury. Secure Computing responds to recent acquisitions by its competition by acquiring a leading security appliance vendor. Verint expands into the mid market with Mercom, and Viisage extends its product line by acquiring Iridian.
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Software M&A - Q2 Review
Published: August 2006
Despite continuing crude oil price increases and growing inflation concerns, the U.S. economy continued to improve in the second quarter of 2006, albeit at a markedly slower pace than 1Q06. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a key economic indicator and broadest measure of economic activity, is projected to grow at a lackluster annualized rate of 1.7% in 2Q06, but follows on the heels of 1Q06's GDP of 5.6%, the fastest pace of growth since the economy grew 7.2% in the third quarter of 2003. According to a midyear survey of 56 forecasters by The Wall Street Journal, economists are cautiously projecting 3.0% GDP growth in 3Q06.
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Software M&A - A Glimpse into Q2
Published: July 2006
M&A momentum continued to build in 2Q06. At the current rate, which we expect to continue, 2006 M&A deal volume will far exceed 2005's tally. Domestic M&A activity across all industry sectors in the second quarter totaled 2,874 transactions, with an aggregate purchase price of $376 billion. The total number of deals in 2Q06 increased 19.1% over 2Q05, while total M&A dollars increased 36.7% over the same time period.
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Software M&A – Q1 2006 was The Best Since '99
Published: May 2006
Despite the relentless advance of crude oil prices, the Iraq quagmire, and concerns about a nuclear capable Iran, the US economy showed continued strength and noteworthy growth in the first quarter of 2006. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a key economic indicator and broadest measure of economic activity, is projected to grow at a rate of 4.9% in 1Q06 versus the modest 1.7% recorded in 4Q05. While this growth is encouraging, the specter of inflation continues to loom on the horizon.
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Software M&A – Acquisition Spree Continues
Published: April 2006
2005 saw 1707 North American software industry mergers and acquisitions, up 5% over 2004. The first quarter of 2006 shows no letup, as large and midcap software companies compete for acquisitions, which will drive top-line growth and leverage their market presence.
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Software M&A – A Glimpse into Q1
Published: March 2006
The opening months of 2006 saw a continuation of the momentum that characterized the software industry in the closing months of 2005. Buyers were primarily public software companies seeking strategic acquisitions in response to market demands and competing players. High on many buyers’ list were strategic acquisitions that enhanced their product offering. Cash continued its dominance as the primary form of payment. Here’s an analysis of eight of the most interesting acquisitions from the first half of the quarter.
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Software M&A -- A Look at the Year Ahead
Published: February 2006
Can you feel the ground shaking beneath your feet? According to the industry pundits and prognosticators, the tsunami is almost upon us. It began two years ago as just another wave, the latest in an endless succession of new software industry waves. We called it application service provider then, but it grew in size and intensity to become software as a service (SaaS) and it threatens to become a tsunami. Yet the staunchest software ships are confident they can ride it. VCs and other private equity investors insist upon it. Industry pundits thrill to it. The Street loves it.
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Software M&A - Q4 Insights
Published: January 2006
The fourth quarter ended on a high note with some financial and very strategic deals, several of which signal a shift in buyer thinking. Valuations continued to improve, with a few deals priced at higher multiples than we've seen for some time. Silver Lake acquires Serena; Intuit sells its Information Technology Solutions (ITS) unit (formerly Blue Ocean Software) to TA Associates; Epicor picks up CRS Retail, and Blackboard acquires its largest competitor WebCT and strengthens its foothold.
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Software M&A - Robust Q3 Deals Despite Katrina
Published: November 2005
Despite soaring crude oil prices, Katrina and inflation concerns, the U.S. economy continued to improve in 3Q05. According to a midyear survey of 56 forecasters by The Wall Street Journal, economists are cautiously projecting 3.2% GDP growth in 4Q05. Personal consumption, exports, private investment, and equipment and software expenditures are likely to be the key drivers. The U.S. Department of Commerce says equipment and software spending was a major contributor to the GDP growth in 3Q05. Equipment and software spending increased 8.9% in 3Q05 over 2Q05, and 10.9% in 2Q05 over the prior quarter.
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Software M&A – Q3 Review
Published: October 2005
The third quarter saw big companies gobbling up smaller ones in a bid to capture markets and extend product offerings. Case in point: Plumtree, a developer of enterprise portal solutions, throws in the towel and is acquired by BEA Systems; Bentley Systems picks up the REI assets of netGuru; Interwoven acquires Scrittura; SSA Global buys out Epiphany, and Security market leader Symantec extends its reach to include end point security through the cash acquisition of Sygate.
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Software M&A – Q3 Mega Deals
Published: September 2005
This month’s deals reflect very disparate buyer motives currently driving software M&A: Hanging over Siebel like Damocles' sword since early 2004, Oracle acquires the CRM giant and a very significant customer base; eBay bets the farm on internet telephony and enters an entirely new product category with its acquisition of Skype; Manhattan Associates fleshes out its supply chain execution offering by acquiring Evant; and struggling SumTotal picks up a more profitable competitor in the hopes that one plus one makes five.
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Software M&A - Q2 Review
Published: August 2005
Despite high energy prices, “froth” in the housing market and record trade deficits, the U.S. economy continued to improve in the Q2 of 2005. Gross Domestic Product is projected to grow at an annualized rate of 3.2% in 2Q'05. Q1 GDP was revised upward by 0.7% to 3.8%. A midyear survey of 56 forecasters by The Wall Street Journal says economists are cautiously optimistic about the economy for the second half of the year, projecting 3.5% growth. Personal consumption, exports, private investment, and equipment and software expenditures are likely to be the key drivers. Equipment and software spending increased 6.1% in 1Q05.
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Software M&A - Q2 Market Turnaround
Published: July 2005
The software M&A market is on the upswing with companies leveraging strengths of their product offerings to expand their presence globally. Case in point: Captiva picks up a leading French provider of document capture solutions, RealNetworks buys out Helsinki based Mr.Goodliving, Transaction Systems Architects to use S2 Systems’ strong open-architecture payment solutions to grow fast, Swedish-based International Business Systems (IBS) acquires Australian IDS Enterprise Systems, a developer of supply chain solutions to the automotive industry.
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Software M&A - A Glimpse into Q2
Published: June 2005
The software M&A market continues to handsomely reward sellers with best-of-breed solutions as buyers seek to enhance their product suites with technology and solutions that can provide competitive differentiation. Case in point: Citrix pays a handsome premium for NetScaler; Quest broadens its database expertise by adding depth in the higher growth MS SQL Server market; Adobe and Macromedia finally consummate a deal; Dessault expands into new verticals; CA makes its 4th acquisition; and Lawson Software seeks to compete with the big boys by acquiring Intentia.
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Software M&A - Q1 Software Industry Equity Report
Published: May 2005
Despite mixed signals in the first quarter, the U.S. economic growth will average 3.6% this year, more than four times the pace in Japan and Germany, and the highest among the world's leading industrialized nations, projects the International Monetary Fund. However, market trends show that, for the remainder of 2005, investors will continue to scrutinize the financial performance of public software companies more closely than in 2004, paying particular attention to topline growth.
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Software M&A Insights: 2005 Q1 Review
Published: March 2005
2004 saw 1630 North American software industry mergers and acquisitions, up 23% over 2003. The first quarter of 2005 shows no letup, as large and midcap software companies compete for acquisitions which will drive top-line growth and leverage their market presence. In this issue we discuss Verisign’s continued push into mobile content with its acquisition of Lightsurf; EMC’s continued acquisition spree outside of storage; this time acquiring SMARTS; Siebel’s scramble for high growth companies leads it to acquire e-billing solution provider, edocs; and Infor Global takes Mapics private to build economies of scale in the quickly consolidating manufacturing software vertical.
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M&A: A Look at the Year Ahead
Published: February 2005
Buoyed by the flurry of mega-deals in the closing weeks of 2004, some industry pundits have declared the three-year M&A drought over. A highly respected dealmaker with a usually conservative outlook enthusiastically declared "an M&A boom in 2005."
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Software M&A-Q4 Review
Published: January 2005
Look at the acquisition frenzy. Scansoft acquires three speech recognition software vendors; Marchex looks to dominate the direct search niche by acquiring Name Development; Best Software makes another strategic acquisition; Cerner acquires Vital Works’ Medical Division (VMD); and Kintera picks up a valuable property from Intuit for a song.
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Software M&A Insights
Published: November 2004
The U.S. economy showed continued growth in the third quarter, but signals were once again mixed. GDP growth, the broadest measure of economic activity, was revised downward to 3.3% for 2Q04. The preliminary 3Q04 GDP number inched up to 3.7%, showing little improvement despite statements by Fed officials that the economy gained traction after hitting a “soft patch” in late Spring. While some economists are predicting a GDP of 4% or better in 4Q04, soaring oil prices, auto manufacturer reliance on costly incentives to spur sales, declines in consumer confidence and spending, disappointing hiring figures and recent increases in initial unemployment insurance claims, could signal slower growth in coming quarters.
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Software M&A Insights
Published: October 2004
M&A valuations continued to range widely in the third quarter, reflecting disparate buyer motives and significant variations by product category. Once again the highest multiples were paid by those buyers seeking to enhance and differentiate their existing offering by adding incremental functionality. Veritas fleshes out its content management offering by acquiring KVault, a leading provider of email archiving solutions, while McAfee plugs a hole in its intrusion prevention offering by acquiring Foundstone, a provider of network vulnerability assessment software.
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Software M&A - Insights
Published: September 2004
Deal multiples this week reflect a buyer’s market rather than the seller’s market we have grown accustomed to in 2004. Total Systems Services acquires Clarity to compete in a rapidly consolidating market; VerticalNet continues to seek revenue growth and profitability through acquisition, this time by acquiring B2eMarkets; Art Technology Group makes a very good strategic acquisition to offer a more robust solution to its target market but the street didn’t take notice; WorkStream continues its quest to be an acquisition candidate itself by buying Bravanta; and ViryaNet purchases a company in one of its key verticals.
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Software M&A - Second Quarter Review
Published: August 2004
The deals for this month reflect virtually every buyer motive currently driving software M&A: TIBCO acquires UK-based Staffware to gain access to two key vertical markets and gain increased presence in Europe and Asia-Pacific; Workstream fleshes out its workforce management offering by acquiring Kadiri and adding compensation management, a perfect “plug in”; a small, struggling public company in the network security space (Steelcloud) picks up a vital technology from a heavily funded developer that’s out of money, hoping to compete against the big boys; and the list goes on...
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Software M&A - A Glimpse into the Second Quarter
Published: July 2004
U.S. merger and acquisition activity in the second quarter of 2004 showed improvement over the equivalent quarter a year ago, and exit valuations continued to ramp. Domestic M&A activity in 2Q04 across all industry sectors totaled 2,517 deals aggregating $153 billion. Relative to 2Q03, the number of deals increased by 18%, while total dollars spent increased 39% over the same period. At the current run rate, 9,980 deals aggregating $769 billion will close in 2004. Software continued to lead all other industries with 425 transactions, representing approximately 17% of all U.S. M&A activity this quarter.
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Software M&A - A Glimpse into the First Quarter
Published: June 2004
Software mergers and acquisitions continue to handsomely reward sellers, as purchase price multiples are on the rise. Best-of-breed security software providers are commanding spectacular multiples due to fierce competition and strong customer demand. Another hot market is IT Governance software, as CTO’s and CIO’s clamor for solutions to demonstrate the business ROI of their technology investments. This issue also provides postmortem insight into Novell’s investment in Linux software provider SuSE AG.
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Software M&A – Q1 Software Industry Equity Report
Published: May 2004
A comprehensive review and analysis of the past quarter’s software industry mergers and acquisitions, this report analyzes changing market valuations of public software companies as a group, as well as by product category. The Report also includes detailed data and in-depth analysis of M&A transactions during the quarter, including changes in the most active software product categories, continued improvement in M&A valuations, further transition in deal structure and form of payment, and shifts in buyer priorities and thinking. Also listed are Q1’s most active buyers and insight into some of Q1’s most interesting and instructive deals.
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Software M&A - A Glimpse into the 2004 First Quarter (Part II)
Published: April 2004
The opening months of 2004 saw a continuation of the momentum that characterized the software industry in the closing months of 2003. Buyers were primarily public software companies seeking strategic acquisitions in response to market demands and competing players. The first quarter of 2004 saw some spectacular multiples reflecting steady improvement in valuations over the past 15 months. In terms of M&A dollar volume, the $12.6 billion spent on software company acquisitions was up 7.7% from Q4 2003 and up 4.1% from Q3 2003.
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Software M&A – 2003 Fourth Quarter Insight
Published: January 2004
The fourth quarter ended on a high note with some very strategic deals, several of which signal a shift in buyer thinking. Valuations continued to improve, with a few deals priced at higher multiples than we've seen for some time. Click to read an analysis of six of Q4's most interesting acquisitions.
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Software M&A – 2003 Fall Deals
Published: December 2003
It’s often been said that the best executives seem to know the least about managing their careers – many even fail to keep their resumes up to date – because they’re busy creating value for their shareholders. But that doesn’t mean that career management is any less important. So how does a CEO ensure that he/she’s not missing out on the next big thing? Enter Canal Street Talent, a firm that watches over the careers of it’s very select Executive clientele so that they don’t have to.
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Software M&A – Q3 2003
Published: November 2003
Q3 showed marked improvement over prior quarters. The number and type of buyers increased. More strategic buyers entered the market, as financial buyers retreated. Buyer motives also began to shift. Software sectors previously hammered by IT budget cuts began their recovery, with notably increased activity in storage management, ERP, wireless and vertical apps. Valuations also improved markedly. Software Equity Group reviews software M&A in Q3, including transactions by Ascential Software, EMC, and Intuit.
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Software M&A – 2003 Opportunity in Adversity
Published: September 2003
Finding opportunity in adversity, private equity buyers took advantage of market conditions by snatching up undervalued software companies reeling from three years of IT budget cutbacks. While some companies found merger partners, others could not attract strategic buyers, as larger software companies sharply curtailed their acquisition efforts, hoarded cash and refused to spend devalued stock. With valuations still low relative to 2000, cash-rich private equity buyers couldn't resist.
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Software M&A: 2003 Q3 in Review
Published: August 2003
Software M&A activity continues to gain momentum, driven by industry consolidation, strategic acquisitions and smaller public companies going private. Oracle’s hopes for a quick acquisition of PeopleSoft have been stymied by poison pills, antitrust issues and continued opposition by PeopleSoft’s board. PeopleSoft did, however, manage to consummate its purchase of J.D. Edwards, closing the transaction in mid-July. Other acquisitive enterprise software vendors included Epicor, Business Objects, Hyperion, Actuate, and Lawson Software. Overall, software M&A is on track to reach 400 deals by the end of the third quarter, a substantial improvement over Q2’s 300 deals, and the 272 deals consummated in Q1.
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Software M&A – 2003 Q2 in Review
Published: July 2003
The second quarter provided reason for guarded optimism about the nation’s economic outlook. The technology sector led a sustained and impressive stock market rally. For the quarter, the S&P 500, NASDAQ and Dow were up 15%, 20% and 12%, respectively. Improved earnings reports, smaller inventory reserves, continued Fed rate cuts and an aggressive fiscal policy were the catalysts many investors needed. Software Equity Group reviews software M&A in the second quarter, including transactions by Agile Software, Mercury, and Network Associates.
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Software M&A - All Hell Breaks Loose, 2003
Published: June 2003
Oracle's hostile bid for Peoplesoft is not your average takeover. Beyond the usual drama of bid, rejection and rebid, there's something else playing out here. It causes many of us to feel conflicted. On the one hand, we respect success and value a free economy where market forces and the survival of the fittest rule. But on the other hand, we root for the underdog, the proud little guy who fights hard and keeps the bully at bay. Terminator vs. Harry Potter. And therein lies our dilemma.
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Software M&A – Second Quarter 2003, Deals and Insight
Published: May 2003
Software M&A activity continues to gain momentum, driven by industry consolidation, strategic acquisitions and smaller public companies going private. Oracle’s hopes for a quick acquisition of PeopleSoft have been stymied by poison pills, antitrust issues and continued opposition by PeopleSoft’s board. PeopleSoft did, however, manage to consummate its purchase of J.D. Edwards, closing the transaction in mid-July. Other acquisitive enterprise software vendors included Epicor, Business Objects, Hyperion, Actuate, and Lawson Software. Overall, software M&A is on track to reach 400 deals by the end of the third quarter, a substantial improvement over Q2’s 300 deals, and the 272 deals consummated in Q1.
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Software M&A - Q1 2003 in Review (Part II)
Published: April 2003
Contrary to the overall economy, the software industry showed some encouraging signs over the quarter. Still, M&A activity, which strongly correlates with the economic environment, faced its share of challenges during the quarter, slowing considerably as world affairs put many buyers and sellers on a temporary holding pattern.
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Software M&A: Q1 2003 in Review (Part I)
Published: March 2003
It’s a challenging environment, but M&A continues within the software sector. Gain insight into twelve recent transactions – who bought, who sold and why…
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Software M&A 2002 - A Year in Review
Published: February 2003
The year after the 9/11 tragedy was difficult for both publicly traded and early stage enterprise software companies alike. Software Equity Group offers a complete review and analysis of software M&A / capital markets activity in 2002.
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