Intralinks® Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IL), a leading global SaaS provider of secure content collaboration solutions, today announced the release of the Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor (DFP), a unique indicator of future mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. According to the latest Intralinks DFP data, 2014's levels of announced deal volumes will be sustained through Q3 2015, although growth will likely moderate as the year progresses. Regional variations in early stage M&A activity are marked, with North America (NA) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sustaining double-digit year-over-year (YoY) growth, Asia Pacific growing more slowly, and Latin America continuing to suffer. These findings are consistent with the responses to Intralinks' global sentiment survey of M&A professionals.
The Intralinks DFP has been independently verified as accurately forecasting the volume of future M&A announcements by tracking deals that are in preparation or have reached the due diligence stage. On average, these early-stage M&A deals are approximately six months away from their public announcement. Highlights from the latest Intralinks DFP data, which forecasts global M&A activity through Q3 2015, include:
Intralinks forecasts modest YoY growth in announced M&A deal volume through Q3 2015
With an 11 percent YoY increase in early-stage M&A activity in the most recent quarter, we expect that global M&A announcements will increase by around six percent in the first half of 2015 compared to 2014. A two percent decline in quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) early stage deal activity, on the back of a strong comparison period in 2014, indicates that we should see slowing of growth in the third quarter of this year.
The majority of this forecast growth will be in NA and EMEA
NA and EMEA show robust YoY growth in early stage M&A activity of around 13 percent in Q1 2015. In Asia Pacific, four percent growth in early stage M&A activity over the last 12 months (LTM) indicates M&A levels should exceed last year, despite a slowing of economic growth in China and some weakness in Japan. With an 11 percent LTM decline in early stage M&A activity, Latin America remains subdued as the impact of falling commodity prices and a sharp slowdown in the region's largest economy, Brazil, continues to be felt.
Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment (TME), Consumer, Technology, and Manufacturing/Industrials lead activity
Globally, on an industry level, we are seeing the strongest increases in early stage M&A activity in the TME, Consumer, Technology, and Manufacturing/Industrial sectors.
"2014 was one of the strongest growth years for global M&A markets, and 2015 is expected to continue to show similar levels of deal volume," said Matt Porzio, vice president of M&A strategy and product marketing at Intralinks. "Although we expect growth in M&A announcements to moderate during the third quarter of the year, dealmaking looks set to remain especially robust in the US and EMEA."
Intralinks also conducted a survey of over 600 M&A professionals during Q1 2015 to understand the prevailing opinions among dealmakers as to the future deal environment. Highlights from the survey results include:
Dealmakers are more positive
Sixty percent of global dealmakers are optimistic, up from last quarter's survey which found 55 percent to be optimistic. According to the survey, 57 percent of dealmakers expect to participate in more deals than six months ago, and 65 percent expect overall deal volumes to increase.
Regional confidence varies dramatically
Sentiment and views vary by region: 63 percent of respondents in North America are optimistic about the current deal environment, compared to only 42 percent in Latin America.
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