Berkery Noyes Releases Online And Mobile Industry M&A Report For First Quarter 2013

NEW YORK, April 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkery Noyes, an independent mid-market investment bank, today released its Q1 2013 mergers and acquisitions trend report for the Online and Mobile Industry. The report analyzes M&A activity in the Online and Mobile Industry during Q1 2013 and compares it with the past four quarters.

According to Berkery Noyes' research, deal volume increased three percent relative to the prior quarter. However, transaction value decreased 50 percent, from $15.8 billion in Q4 2012 to $7.9 billion in Q1 2013.

The SaaS/ASP segment experienced the largest quarterly rise in volume, improving 16 percent. Meanwhile, transaction volume in the E-Commerce segment increased six percent between Q4 2012 and Q1 2013. The segment's highest value deal in Q1 2013 was Google's announced acquisition of Channel Intelligence for $125 million. In addition, major financial technology players completed several large Online and Mobile payments acquisitions during Q1 2013. For instance, ACI Worldwide acquired Online Resources Corporation for $203 million and FIS acquired mFoundry for $120 million.

M&A involving transactions with a large mobile component increased 33 percent over the past three months. Along these lines, there were several acquisitions in the food service information and content space. This included Yahoo!'s acquisition of Alike, which enables users to make recommendations about their favorite food establishments; and OpenTable's acquisition of Foodspotting, an application that helps users share information about particular dishes.

With four transactions, Yahoo! was the most active Online and Mobile Industry acquirer during the quarter. Several of Yahoo!'s recent acquisitions demonstrate its renewed focus on mobile under CEO Marissa Mayer. Yahoo! has already completed three mobile transactions thus far in 2013, acquiring social news application Summly, as well as applications Alike and Jybe. In contrast, Yahoo! only made two mobile transactions last year, both of which occurred in Q4 2012.

As for the E-Marketing & Search segment, M&A activity increased nine percent in Q1 2013. "The ability to better profile and target consumers has necessitated the development and growth of companies that can analyze shoppers' behavior and develop appropriate offerings to the consumer," said Evan Klein, Managing Director at Berkery Noyes. "This shift has led to the growth of data analytics businesses and, with the need to develop deeper relationships with consumers, the growth in loyalty marketing companies."

Regarding the segment's social media marketing subset, one notable acquisition in Q1 2013 was Twitter's acquisition of BlueFin Labs. A key goal of acquiring the social television analytics company is for Twitter to gain additional advertising revenue by leveraging viewer data. TiVo and The Nielsen Company completed E-Marketing acquisitions in 2012, both of which focused on improving the ability to measure digital audiences.

A copy of the ONLINE AND MOBILE INDUSTRY M&A REPORT FOR FIRST QUARTER 2013 is available at the Berkery Noyes website.

About Berkery Noyes

Berkery Noyes is an independent investment banking advisory firm servicing the information industry. The firm specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory, debt and equity financing, and financial consulting services for companies in the $10 million to $500 million range. Since its founding by Joseph W. Berkery in 1983, Berkery Noyes has worked with corporate clients to grow through acquisition, divest non-core assets, and maximize shareholder returns through strategic transactions and restructurings. For private owners, Berkery Noyes helps create liquidity and execute timely exit strategies that achieve their personal and professional objectives. The firm's research teams publish acquisition activity in the respective sectors they follow on MandAsoft.com.

Securities services are offered through Berkery Noyes Securities, LLC. For more information, visit www.berkerynoyes.com.

­­­Contact Information:
Peter Wilson
Berkery Noyes
646-442-7966
[email protected]

SOURCE Berkery Noyes