Mergers & Acquisitions profiles the top 28 investment banks of 2018, with KPMG, Houlihan Lokey, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), William Blair and Lincoln International ranking as the five most active in M&A. The list is based on volume of completed deals, with PitchBook as the data provider. It was a good year for dealmaking, with activity in the U.S. middle market exceeding $400 billion, the first year to achieve the milestone.
Related: Top investment banks: KPMG, Houlihan Lokey, Goldman Sachs, William Blair.
Related: M&A soared in 2018; companies confident about dealmaking in 2019.
Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) has acquired StaCyc, a maker of electric-powered two-wheelers for kids. The deal is part of Harley-Davidson's "More Roads to Harley-Davidson" plan, which focuses on building the next generation of riders through new products in additional motorcycle segments, and providing broader access to the brand and products. StaCyc's products are already sold in 29 Harley-Davidson dealerships. "After a few conversations with Harley-Davidson, we realized that the ethos of our brands and our commitment to bringing more riders to motorcycling were incredibly aligned," says Ryan Ragland, founder of StaCyc. "The opportunity to work with the team at Harley-Davidson and have the support to carry out our mission to create the next generation of riders is exciting." The automotive industry is going through a major shift, as cars are being made with additional technology, including innovations for self-driving cars and connected devices.
Related: Leveraging auto tech is one of the themes in corporate M&A. For more, read Mergers & Acquisitions' annual look at strategic buyers: 7 reasons why smart companies Amazon, Nike, Target are doing M&A.
Germany’s automotive industry will invest over 40 billion euros ($45 billion) in electric vehicles over the next three years to triple the number of models vying for buyers. The plan is pivotal to reach ambitious goals in the European Union to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and requires the expansion of charging infrastructure. Read the full story from Bloomberg News: German car industry to invest in electric vehicles.
Related: Car parts makers fuel M&A, as industry readies for self-driving vehicles.
Deal news
Fleetcor Technologies Inc. (NYSE: FLT) is buying automated payment services company Nvoicepay from Napier Park Financial Partners. Alston & Bird is advising Fleetcor. Advisors to Nvoicepay include: Raymond James and Cooley.
American Mortgage Consultants Inc. has acquired String Real Estate Information Services LLC, a provider of title search outsourcing services. JMP Securities advised String.
One Equity Partners has invested in Mera and combined it with portfolio company Orion Business Innovation. Mera provides software services, product development, software and architecture design, implementation and integration to businesses.
NovaQuest Capital Management-backed Catalyst Clinical Research has acquired certain assets of Triangle Biostatistics. The target offers statistical programming, statistical consulting, and data management services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.
New Heritage Capital has invested in Rhythmlink International, a manufacturer of disposable neurodiagnostic devices and consumables.
Sentinel Capital Partners has acquired Mobile Communications America, a provider of communications services.
Accenture purchased consulting firms ESP and ?What If!.
People moves
Derek Beres was hired by William Blair as a managing director, and Perry Joiner has joined as a vice president to expand the investment bank's transportation, logistics and automotive group. Beres was most recently with Piper Jaffray (NYSE: PJC), while Joiner was previously with Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC).
Colin Bumby has Joined law firm McGuireWoods as a partner. He was most recently with Latham & Watkins, and represents private equity firms in M&A.
Alex Kaufman was hired by law firm Paul Hastings' Palo Alto, California office as a partner, focusing on the software and technology sectors. He was previously co-chair of the Israel practice at Morrison Foerster. The hire adds further momentum to the growth of the Los Angeles law firm's Silicon Valley office and to the firm’s broader technology and M&A capability that has been recently enhanced by a series of new partner arrivals.
Featured content
Technology M&A is thriving, and private equity firms are hot on the trail of innovations that will drive sustainable value to customers and make companies more efficient, more effective and less expensive to run. Among the developments appealing to PE investors are: artificial intelligence, data management, data virtualization, digital marketing, healthcare IT, industrial automation, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine learning, payment processing and Software-as-a-Service. To gain more insights into what kinds of tech deals will dominate the field in 2019, Mergers & Acquisitions reached out to 10 private equity firms that are active investors in technology: Francisco Partners, Genstar, Great Hill, HGGC, Insight, LLR, Riverside, Silver Lake, TA and Vista.
Related: 10 private equity firms share strategies for tech M&A.
Independent sponsors must rely on others for the capital to close deals. Having a working relationship with a PE firm provides the independent sponsor with an ally and leverage while negotiating the best deal possible. Read the full guest article by Boyne Capital Partners' Derek McDowell: How to structure a winning PE-independent sponsor partnership.
"There's a lot of capital chasing deals, both from the private equity community and strategic buyers across sectors," says Delance Street Partners' David Allebach, in this video shot at ACG Philadelphia's M&A East conference. Watch the video: Why buyers have to pay more for quality targets.
Related: M&A Insights: Inclusion investing, a video interview with Lorine Pendleton.
Mergers & Acquisitions has named 36 leaders the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, including Kainos Capital's Sarah Bradley, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors' Nishita Cummings and Pelham S2K Managers' Venita Fields. All 36 are outstanding dealmakers both inside and outside of their firms. This year, we asked the featured dealmakers to tell their own stories through Q&As, including their advice for women.
Related: Meet the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.
Mergers & Acquisitions has closed the nomination process for the 2018 M&A Mid-Market Awards. We look forward to announcing the winners in March. The Awards are one of three special reports we produce each year to celebrate deals, dealmakers and dealmaking firms. The other two are The Rising Stars of Private Equity and The Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A.
Related: Special reports overview: M&A Mid-Market Awards, Rising Stars, Most Influential Women.
Events
ACG Minnesota and Corvus North are hosting AIM: A Women's Leadership Conference at the Minneapolis Hyatt on March 7. The conference is designed to support and encourage female leaders to grow and achieve success throughout their career journeys.
ACG Philadelphia is hosting its 2nd annual Industry Tour focused on SaaS & Tech-Enabled Services on March 12 at the Union League of Philadelphia. Last year's event brought together 200 PE investors, investment bankers, operating companies and industry advisors from around the country.
The Women's Private Equity Summit will be held at the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, California, March 13-15. The Summit will bring together more than 550 female professionals in private equity and venture capital.
ACG New York's Women of Leadership is hosting a golf event and reception on March 21 at Konnect Golf in Manhattan. The event brings together female dealmakers from private equity firms, investment banks and lenders.
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