Articles

a person spray painting the side of a car blue

FOCUS: Consolidation in 4,000-outlet paint jobber industry echoes auto body trends

The heavy consolidation trend in the collision repair industry continues to be mirrored in the 4,000-outlet, $4 billion paint refinish distribution segment, a new FOCUS Investment Banking report notes. “There are multiple buyers, many willing sellers, cheap capital and attractive prices,” FOCUS Managing Director David Roberts wrote in a recent study.

Large M&A Sellers Consistently Get Higher Prices than Small Sellers

illustrated tree in the shape of a dollar sign with a man propped up against it on a ladder maintaining the branches 2015 FactSet statistics show that large M&A transactions had higher value multiples than small deals—and the premium is about 30 percent. Median EV/EBITDA multiples for deals exceeding $250 million approximated 12.4x, while the ratio for middle-market transactions was 9.5x. This phenomenon of higher multiples for larger deals has been persistent over time.
Gabe Galvez on the State of Middle Market M&A

Taking the Pulse of Middle Market Investment Banking

Gabe Galvez is the Founder and CEO of CAPTARGET, an innovative service provider to middle market investment banks, M&A intermediaries and private equity firms. CAPTARGET is in daily contact with a large number of M&A industry participants and has created a comprehensive directory of M&A Intermediary firms, giving Mr. Galvez unique insight into the Middle …

2015 M&A May Pass Records Set in 2000

an illustrated image of a tree in the shape of an upward arrow A whirlwind of wheeling and dealing continues to drive mergers and acquisitions through the third quarter. According to Thomson Reuters, this is the best year for M&A since before the financial crisis. Global M&A activity has risen 38% year-over-year to $2.18 trillion through the first half of 2015. InvestorPlace reports that “The third quarter was awash in big deals…A great chunk of that deal activity came from U.S. companies, as mergers and acquisitions rose 60% to $987.7 billion. For banking and legal advisers, business hasn’t been this brisk in the first half of a year since 1980…make no mistake — the market loves M&A. A flurry of deal activity signals that companies have confidence in the economy and stock market.”

Strategic or Financial: Which Buyer Pays More?

When it comes time to sell the company you’ve worked hard to build, it’s crucial to understand the selling process—especially the types of buyers you might be meeting. Potential buyers fall into two main categories: financial and strategic.

Financial buyers acquire a company primarily for financial return. They place a large emphasis on characteristics including …

glass business buldings taken from below

2015 May Be Biggest Year Ever for M&A

But don’t take our word for it: “Companies are merging at a pace unseen in nearly a decade. Halfway through the year, about $2.15 trillion in M&A deals or offers have been announced globally, according to Dealogic. That puts 2015 on pace to challenge the biggest year on record, 2007, when companies inked deals worth …

Are You Looking to Exit? The M&A Market is Ready for You.

The M&A market for 2015 is looking bright – kicking off with a stellar start. According to Thomson Reuters, Q1 2015 saw over $854 billion in activity – the strongest quarter since 2007. Mid-market (deal valuation up to $500 million) deal volume was at $188.4 billion, with a year over year increase of 6.2 percent. From all indications, M&A will continue to be a leading growth strategy for companies, with rich exit multiples.

Perspectives on M&A 2015

In today’s deal climate, we are likely to see more divestitures as buyers and sellers look for more creative ways to be strategic in their growth, according to a recent Deal Value report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML). Companies are optimizing for growth and streamlining their portfolios with divestitures of noncore assets and …

The Darling of Investment Opportunities—Specialty Chemicals Intermediates

Specialty Chemicals represent a $730 billion industry. Within this landscape, there exists a common source of raw materials known as chemical intermediates. Intermediates are the key “building-block” substances synthesized to deliver desired functional performance to formulated products such as plastics, cosmetics, home care products, agricultural chemicals, coatings, adhesives, inks, pharmaceuticals, etc.