Sell Your Company in 120 Days!

Robert W. Baird & Co. - Baird - M&A Global Monthly for September 2011 is the best analysis I have seen on the current state of the M&A Market.  While trends are down globally, the US is better off than the UK and India.  Pages 5 through 9 deal exclusively with the US Middle Market.

After a strong market through July 2011, US M&A activity has slowed dramatically.  However, the US Middle Market (Transactions less than $1BN) showed mixed results in September 2011 versus September 2010 Total number of deals was up 4.5% but dollar volume of transactions was down substantially. Baird’s research provides a comprehensive summary analysis of all M&A Markets and breaks it down in a very easy to understand format. It not only measures number of transactions and their dollar value, it also provides insight into pricing metrics such as multiples of EBITDA, Revenues and provides data on how buyers are paying for target companies (cash vs. stock) and the number of Strategic vs. Sponsor (pvt equity/VC), etc.  The best metric to look to determine future trends are the LTM numbers….

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Most of the IPO activity in Q3 closed in July and the number decreased 51.5% from the Q3 period in 2010; however, the number of companies in the que at the end of Q3 are 181 versus 133 at end of Q3 2010, a 36.1% increase.  Technology and oil & gas companies lead the way.  Is this RECORD pipeline good or bad for these registrants?

 “The US IPO pipeline is full and primed for companies to go public in Q4 despite continued market swings and volatility according to Ernst & Young’s US IPO Pipeline Analysis.  The update, reported during the third quarter 2011, showed that Technology and Oil & Gas companies combined accounted for 48 percent of the IPO registration, and when the market regains its footing, these sectors will likely dominate IPO activity….”   Read more….

Finally - some good news for home-builders.

“Home-builder optimism climbed to the highest level since the federal home-buyer tax credit started in April 2010, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders index.”  Read more...