Professional services sector landscape
M&A Activity & Aggregate Deal Value: Q2-19 – Q2-21
- Global aggregate deal value for the Professional services sector increased to $80.3bn* in Q2-21, up from $66.2bn in Q1-21
- Aggregate global M&A deal volume for the sector however saw a decline of 11.5% in Q2-21 compared to Q1-21
- In Q2-21, the U.S. Professional services aggregate M&A deal value increased to $66.4bn*, up from $47.0bn in Q1-21. During the same period, M&A deal activity fell by 12.8% to 506 deals
- The U.S. accounted for 37.4% of global professional services M&A activity in Q2-21, slightly down from 38.0% witnessed during the prior quarter
Professional Services Public Company Sector Overview
| Sector | LTM Trading Multiples | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue |
EV / EBITDA |
||
| Business Process Outsourcing | 2.85x | 17.3x | Outsourced, offshore, or third-party service providers |
| Diversified Data & Information Services | 5.97x | 21.6x | Providers of data, analytics, and business information services |
| Data & Information Services: Financial & Media | 5.51x | 23.6x | Companies offering research, insights, and analytics related to financial market data |
| Governance, Risk, and Compliance | 4.95x | 16.9x | Providers of compliance and risk management solutions |
| HR Staffing & Professional Services | 1.83x | 16.7x | Workforce solutions and other professional services |
| Human Resource Outsourcing | 3.71x | 17.0x | Outsourced and managed human resource service offerings |
| IT Consulting | 3.34x | 16.2x | Providers of information technology solutions |
| Speciality Consulting | 1.72x | 15.8x | Advisory, consulting, and analytic solution offerings |
We hope you find this information valuable, and as always, feel free to reach out if you would like to discuss in further detail. To read the full report, download the PDF below.
Footnotes
* During Q2-21, Microsoft Corporation entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Nuance Communications, Inc. for $19.8bn, which comprised 24.7% of global and 29.8% of U.S. aggregate deal value for the Professional Services sector.
