M&A Market Update 2018 Southeast Annual Year in Review
In 2018, southeast M&A investment had a record year. Despite declining deal count, capital raised reached an all-time high for the region at $235 billion. A number of mega-deals contributed to the total and a record high $53 million median deal size.
Purchase price multiples continue upward trends. In 2018, valuation multiples reached 10-year highs at 9.75x. Higher transaction volume drove competition and prices higher while an appealing tax environment and affordable financing enticed buyers to seek acquisitions.
Information Technology has big year. The IT sector had higher than average volume with $43 billion in capital invested resulting in a 152% increase from $17 billion invested in 2017. IBM’s $36 billion acquisition of software company Red Hat played a large role.
