Mergermarket Group Rebrands As ‘Acuris’
Relaunch reflects restructured portfolio and diverse product offering
London/Hong Kong/New York/Dubai: Monday, July 10, 2017
User/Subscriber Economics: Value Dynamics
Mergermarket Group, the leading provider of business intelligence and research for fixed income, transactions, compliance and equities, today announced that it has relaunched under the brand name Acuris.
The Company is globally recognized through its unique portfolio of brands, with 700+ reporters, analysts and developers covering financial markets throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. Acuris has 17 offices globally, including three headquarters in London, New York and Hong Kong.
The Acuris brand unveiled today is designed to communicate the wide-ranging activities of the Company’s research and intelligence titles and the qualities that unite them. All output from the Company is informed by its ‘acumen’, ‘curation’ and ‘insight’, and these concepts have been combined to create Acuris. Beyond the rebrand itself, the launch of Acuris will see a restructuring of the product portfolio, to better enable subscribers and customers to take advantage of the depth of data and insights that exists across products.
Acuris products, which include Mergermarket, Debtwire, Inframation, C6 and more, are focused on providing sharp, analytical and non-linear thinking and industry-leading-expertise, with networks that reach into the farthest corners of the markets they cover.
The rebranded and unified offering will ensure that content remains front and center of Acuris’ operations, while facilitating a standardized look and feel across products. Proprietary information will remain Acuris’ key differentiator – from intelligence and legal analysis to credit research and industry trend reports – with the new logo adapted for each brand retaining an overarching visual identity.
Commenting on the rebrand, Hamilton Matthews, CEO of Acuris, said:
“Since the foundation of Mergermarket Group in 2000 we have executed a string of successful transactions, and these have seen our product suite grow far beyond the confines of M&A intelligence.
“We now cover a broader range of sectors, providing dynamic solutions to a steadily increasing subscriber base. As a result, we are launching a brand that covers every part of our business, and clearly articulates the shared qualities that form the bedrock of all our products.
“This is the beginning of a journey. By the end of 2017, all our products will have been fully rebranded, in accordance with the new Acuris’ identity. We are regularly speaking to subscribers to make sure that our business remains their first port of call for proprietary market intelligence, analysis and opportunity assessment. Their feedback will drive ongoing improvements to our products and strategy, and we look forward to meeting and exceeding their expectations.”
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Global And Regional M&A: H1 2017
A couple key findings include:
- Global M&A in the first half of 2017 has seen an 8.4% increase by value despite 1,117 fewer deals on the same period last year. H1 2017 recorded US$ 1.49tn across 8,052 deals, compared to US$ 1.38tn with 9,169 deals. Companies have been looking at ‘future-proofing’ in the wake of rapid changes to technology and politics to keep ahead of rivals. There have been 17 megadeals (> US$ 10bn) announced since the beginning of the year, versus 14 such deals in H1 2016
- Structural changes around the globe have begun to break down and reshape not only traditional political identities but also long-standing industries, brought on by the ever-growing prevalence of technology in our daily lives. Despite geopolitical uncertainty, the US economy has remained strong, with low inflation, a steady jobs rate, and two interest rate raises in H1 2017. US M&A in the first half of the year reached US$ 602.6bn with 2,446 deals, an uptick in value of 2.4% from H1 2016 (US$ 588.5bn, 2,677 deals) and fall in deal count of 231. With more activity expected in the pipeline, what has given dealmakers pause is the increasing unpredictability of the administration’s policy agenda as well as its political future
Global
Global M&A in the first half of 2017 has seen a 8.4% increase by value despite 1,117 fewer deals on the same period last year. H1 2017 recorded US$ 1.49tn across 8,052 deals, compared to US$ 1.38tn with 9,169 deals. Companies have been looking at ‘future-proofing’ in the wake of rapid changes to technology and politics to keep ahead of rivals. There have been 17 megadeals (> US$ 10bn) announced since the beginning of the year, versus 14 such deals in H1 2016.
As faith in the market continues to grow, European M&A has surged ahead, securing a 32.3% share of the global value. Both the US (US$ 602.6bn, 2,446 deals) and Asia Pacific (exc. Japan) (US$ 272.9bn, 1,585 deals) saw their share drop to 40.4% and 18.3% from 42.8% and 21.3% respectively. Following political uncertainty across the continent earlier in the year, European activity rose by 28.7% in Q2 to US$ 271.2bn (1,450 deals) compared to Q1 2017 (US$ 210.7bn, 1,641 deals). With 3,091 announcements in H1 2017, dealmakers generated a substantial US$ 481.9bn-worth of deals in Europe representing a 30.1% increase on the same point in 2016 (US$ 370.5bn 3,732 deals).
As companies look to pursue their strategies of restructuring, increase efficiency and upgrade technology, the Energy, Mining & Utilities sector has been the most targeted industry globally by value with US$ 267.9bn across 662 deals. This represents a 51.9% growth over the equivalent period in 2016, which saw US$ 176.3bn (723 deals). An increase in larger deals, with 55 transactions above US$ 1bn announced in 2017 compared to 31 in H1 2016, formed the main reason for such lift, partially fuelled by some stabilisation of the oil prices.
With an abundance of ‘dry powder’ at hand, private equity has had a stellar year. Buyouts are up 26.7% by value to US$ 240bn (1,420 deals) on this time last year and exits up 19.4% to US$ 253.5bn (1,106 deals), following announcements such as LogiCor (US$ 13.8bn) and Pharmaceutical Product Development (US$ 9bn). The second quarter has been particularly strong with the highest quarterly buyout value (US$ 153.3bn) since Q2 2007 (US$ 362.9bn) and the highest exit value (US$ 166.1bn) on Mergermarket record (since 2001).
Top Deals
League tables by value
Europe
European M&A in H1 has mirrored the global trend, with this year’s value up 30.1% to US$ 481.9bn (3,091 deals), despite 641 fewer deals compared to the same period last year when 3,732 deals worth US$ 370.5bn were announced. Confidence appears to be growing in the European market following the elections in France and the Netherlands, where populist candidates were beaten. The second quarter of the year has been particularly active, with Q2’s value (US$ 271.2bn) 28.7% higher than in Q1 (US$ 210.7bn). The region now represents 32.3% of global M&A value, which stands at US$ 1.49tn, up from a 26.9% share at this point in 2016.
The ‘fewer but larger deals’ trend seen in 2017 – particularly in Q2 – has been one of the main causes of the value increase. Europe has received seven megadeals (> US$ 10bn) year-to-date, including four deals above US$ 20bn. This compares to just four megadeals in the first half of 2016, which included the US$ 45.9bn takeover of Syngenta by ChemChina. Four of the top five deals globally in 2017 targeted Europe, two of which were announced in Q2.
Inbound investment has been a key driver of activity in H1 with 593 deals worth US$ 211.1bn announced so far this year – the highest year-to-date value on Mergermarket record (since 2001) and 43.8% of total European M&A. Activity from outside Europe has grown 14.4% by value with 34 deals valued at over US$ 1bn each. Following the introduction of regulations on capital flight, Chinese investment into Europe has fallen to US$ 25.6bn (59 deals), a 65.7% drop in value compared to the same period last year (86 deals, US$ 74.8bn). With 342 deals worth US$ 146bn, the US has been the most active investor, accounting for a 69.2% of inbound activity by value.
Industrials & Chemicals once again led the way in Europe as it became the most targeted sector by both value and deal count. However, despite the tie-up between Praxair and Linde (US$ 45.5bn), the largest European deal across all sectors in 2017, the industry stands 19.2% behind last year’s value of US$ 108.6bn. With 648 deals worth US$ 87.7bn announced in H1 2017, the sector represents 18.2% of the region’s total value.
Top deals
League table by value
United States
Structural changes around the globe have begun to break down and reshape not only traditional political identities but also long-standing industries, brought on by the ever-growing prevalence of technology in our daily lives. Despite geopolitical uncertainty, the US economy has remained strong, with low inflation, a steady jobs rate, and two interest rate raises in H1 2017. US M&A in the first half of the year reached US$ 602.6bn with 2,446 deals, an uptick in value of 2.4% from H1 2016 (US$ 588.5bn, 2,677 deals) and fall in deal count of 231. With more activity expected in the pipeline, what has given dealmakers pause is the increasing unpredictability of the administration’s policy agenda as well as its political future.
The top deal of Q2 was Becton, Dickinson and Company’s US$ 23.6bn bid for C.R. Bard, which drove up Pharma, Medical & Biotech (PMB) value by 31.4%. This was not enough, however, for PMB to regain its H1 2016 crown as top sector, which this year went to Consumer. The latter reached a record US$ 141.6bn, up 427.1% in value over the same period last year. In the spotlight was Amazon’s US$ 13.5bn June bid for Whole Foods. Though not the largest deal in the sector by far, it is widely expected to have massive implications for Retail, blurring the lines between Consumer and Technology.
By deal count it was Technology which finished H1 2017 with the most deals – 447 worth US$ 43.5bn. Of total deal count, Software was responsible for 74.5% of Technology’s overall activity, whilst accounting for 61.6% of the sector’s total value, with deals spanning the cloud computing, cybersecurity, fintech, and autonomous vehicle spaces. With its burgeoning imprint on such long-standing sectors as Financial Services, Industrials, and Medical, the number of Tech deals is only expected to increase.
Geopolitical concerns also had an effect on cross-border activity. With Brexit negotiations underway, UK bids for US companies reached US$ 91.1bn, their largest half-year values on Mergermarket record since H1 1999 (US$ 122.5bn, 53 deals) and 18.3x the total value in H1 2016 (US$ 5bn, 72 deals). In fact, the UK’s inbound M&A investment accounted for 42.8% of all US inbound activity for H1, which in turn also hit a record high of US$ 213bn, representing an increase of 27.4% in value over H1 2016 (US$ 167.2bn, 486 deals).
Top deals
League table by value
Article by Mergermarket
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