Monthly Archives: October 2018

Q3 2018 Knowledge Economy Global M&A Update

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Global deal values and valuation multiples continue to rise led by media agencies and IT services M&A

By Ramone Param, Director, Equiteq

  • The number of completed deals rose 12%
  • Median deal sizes nearly doubled vs. Q3 2017
  • Activity remains focused on media agencies and IT services
  • Strong rises in M&A in North America and APAC
  • Equiteq Knowledge Economy Share Price Index pushes to new highs

The global M&A market across the knowledge economy was strong in the third quarter of 2018. Market data from the quarter reflects a key trend we have been monitoring over the last eighteen months: global buyers are pushing ahead with larger deals at premium prices. This is partly down to strategic buyers and private equity having record capital available for M&A. Given the low interest rate environment, there is pressure to deploy this capital on larger transactions. Particularly amid increasing signs that quantitative easing programs are coming to an end across developed economies.

The following summarizes the main trends discussed in more detail in our recent Q3 2018 M&A update report.

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Privacy in the digital and physical world

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By Greg Fincke, Managing Director, Equiteq

It’s been widely reported that Yahoo and AOL, both owned by Verizon’s business unit Oath, are reading users’ emails to more effectively target advertising.

The WSJ moves beyond the headline issue of privacy and into the privacy trade-off users make with their free email providers. There is an interesting connection here to the concept of “razors” and “blades”, discussed in a previous post.  Email could be seen as the razor to Oath’s blade, i.e. how they make money, online advertising. Trying to monetize their “expensive” razor is proving tricky. At the very least it has generated plenty of media attention regarding privacy concerns.

The WSJ article references Yahoo’s ad-free email service for $3.49/month. There have been attempts at pay-for privacy social media platforms in the past. It is interesting to think about the digital assets available to consumers and the price of privacy. My sense is most of us have always thought of online ad targeting as benign. But as we shift more of our lives to the digital world, learn more about how our data is being used (sometimes after the fact), and start questioning where the boundaries are it begs the question: is there a future for digital pay-for privacy?

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September 2018: Knowledge Economy M&A and Equity Market Update

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By Ramone Param, Director, Equiteq

  • Major deals profiled include Cognizant’s acquisition of ATG, AlixPartners’ acquisition of Zolfo Cooper’s US operations and SAIC’s acquisition of Engility.
  • Equiteq advised System Partners on its sale to DXC Technology and Mexia on joining Deloitte.
  • The Equiteq Knowledge Economy Share Price Index fell modestly over the month.

Cognizant acquires ATG, expanding its capabilities in the rapidly growing cloud-based Quote to Cash consulting space

Target: Advanced Technology Group (ATG) is a US-based provider of advice on planning, implementing, and optimizing cloud-based Quote to Cash (QTC) business processes and technologies for businesses. ATG is a global Salesforce consulting partner.

Buyer: Cognizant is a US-headquartered global technology services firm.

Deal Insight: Equiteq recently published a guide for the Configure Price Quote (CPQ) industry at Salesforce’s Dreamforce 18. CPQ forms part of the QTC space and it was clear from our research that the space is seeing rapid growth, particularly as it relates to cloud-based solutions that are transforming the sales experience for businesses across industries. The following software players are some of the leaders that have received considerable investments and / or expanded into the space via M&A.

  • Apttus was acquired by private equity Thoma Bravo in September 2018;
  • SAP completed its acquisition of Callidus Software in April 2018;
  • Salesforce completed its acquisition of SteelBrick in 2016; and
  • Oracle completed its acquisition of BigMachines in 2013.

The acquisition of ATG marks Cognizant’s fourth acquisition in 2018. The deal is its second acquisition in the Salesforce consulting space after its recent acquisition of SaaSfocus – an Indian digital transformation consulting business that leverages Salesforce solutions. Salesforce consulting businesses continue to observe strong demand from buyers, as the industry benefits from the growth in the adoption of the latest Salesforce solutions.

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Equiteq & Quote-to-Cash experts Simplus release Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ) Industry Guide at Dreamforce 18

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By Nicodemo Esposito, Managing Director and Ramone Param, Director, Equiteq

We have just returned from an exhilarating week in San Francisco for Dreamforce 18, the largest technology event in the world and this year attracting over 170,000 people from Salesforce’s client, investor, research and partner network. The most pertinent discussions revolved around the latest artificial intelligence solutions and how they are further disrupting customer experience. The conference also provided the opportunity for major deals and investments to be announced, including the sale of Equiteq’s M&A advisory client and Salesforce Platinum partner, System Partners, to DXC Technology.

At this year’s conference, Equiteq and Quote-to-Cash experts, Simplus, announced the release of The Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ) Industry Guide 2018, the most comprehensive publicly available study of the CPQ industry and investment within the space. The guide provides exclusive industry perspectives on the CPQ trends currently transforming customer experience for businesses and driving investment in solutions providers.

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