Berkery Noyes Publishes First Half 2011 M&A Report for the Information Industry

Berkery Noyes, an independent investment bank specializing in theinformation content and technology industries, announced that itreleased its Half Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trends Report forthe Information Industry.

According to a release, the report analyzes merger andacquisition activity in the segment across the first half of 2011and compares it with activity for the four previous sixth-monthperiods from 2009-2010.

The Information Industry, which Berkery Noyes defines as allmedia, software, and online companies, continued its recovery intothe first half of 2011. Transaction volume increased by 10 percentover the period, while aggregate transaction value increased by 28percent, rising from $63.5 billion to $81.1 billion.

Transaction multiples also continued to climb. According to thereport, median EBITDA multiples rose 50 percent over for the six-month period and median revenue multiples increased by 54 percent.Both of these figures represent new highs of the periods analyzed inthis report.

The company noted that Google, Inc. remained acquisitive withinthe Information Industry, purchasing 13 companies over the firsthalf of the year, bringing its two-and-a-half year total to 45. Thefirm's most recent purchases represented a range of companies andtechnologies in the Information sector, including social networkanalytics, search engines, and messaging services.

The largest transaction during the period was Microsoft Corp.'sannounced acquisition of Skype Technologies SA from an investorgroup led by Silver Lake Partners for $9.08 billion.

The Berkery Noyes analysis also shows that companies with apredominantly internet-based business model now represent themajority of acquired companies in the Information Industry. In firsthalf 2011, 56 percent of companies sold were predominantly internet-based compared to 33 percent in first half 2004, an increase of 60percent.

More Information:

berkerynoyes.com

berkerynoyes.com/pages/trend_reports/index.aspx

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