Press Release - Mergermarket

Global M&A Overview: Private Equity Buyouts
Private equity-backed buyouts in Q4 2011 added up to US$ 52.4bn, 33.7% less than the previous
quarter (US$ 79bn in Q3 2011), and the lowest total since Q2 2010 (US$ 51.4bn). The year as a whole,
however, was the strongest for buyout activity since 2008, with deals announced with a total value of
US$ 277.7bn, a 15.3% increase on the US$ 240.8bn in 2010. The proportion of global M&A activity in
2011 accounted for by buyouts was 12.9%, up from 11.3% in 2010 and the highest proportion since
2007 (23%).
The decrease in buyout activity seen in Q4 2011 was spread across all markets. European buyouts
in Q4 (US$ 17.6bn) were down 40% compared to Q3 2011 (US$ 29.4bn), US buyouts (US$ 25.3bn)
were down 4.9% compared to Q3 2011 (US$ 26.6bn) and Asia-Pacific buyouts (US$ 5.7bn) were down
66.9% compared to the previous quarter (US$ 17.2bn).
On leveraged buyouts (US$ 200m+ and excluding buy-ins), private equity firms raised, on average,
debt financing of 6.0x EBITDA last year, the highest level since 2007 (6.6x). Meanwhile, debt financing
on LBOs reached an average of 55.5% of total funding per deal in 2011, down from 59.3% in the full
year of 2010, and slightly up from 54.1% in 2009.
2011 saw 69 large-cap deals (US$ 1bn+), with a total value of US$ 150.4bn, up 27.7% compared to
the previous year’s US$ 117.8bn (59 deals). The largest buyout of the year was the acquisition of the
US operations of Centro Properties Group for US$ 9.4bn, announced by Blackstone Group in March.
Barclays Capital was the most active financial advisor on buyouts in 2011, advising on 21 buyouts with
a total value of US$ 37.2bn. The Carlyle Group was the most active private equity house by deal count
in 2011, with 28 buyouts with a total value of US$ 9bn. Both companies retain their top positions from
2010.
Top 10 Global private equity firms Y/E 2011 - buyouts by deal count
Ranking House Value (US$m) Deal Count
1 The Carlyle Group 8,992 28
2 H.I.G. Capital 342 17
3 Blackstone Group 19,556 16
4 Sun Capital Partners 652 16
5 Lloyds TSB Development Capital 597 16
6 The Riverside Company 30 16
7 Bridgepoint Capital 4,172 14
8 Advent International 4,428 12
9 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts 18,053 11
10 EQT Partners 3,270 11
Value of Deals ($bn)
Debt/EBITDA (x)
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Global Private Equity Buyout Activity - Quarterly
Global Debt Financing Ratios Trend
(US$200m+ buyouts, excluding buy-ins)
Rest of the World (Value)
Asia-Pacific ex Japan (Value)
US (Value)
Europe (Value)
Buyouts (% of Total M&A)
Debt/EBITDA Multiple (x)
Debt/Total Funding (%)
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Press Release: mergermarket M&A Round-up for Year End 2011
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35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Percentage of Global M&A
Debt/Total Funding (%)