Schulte Roth & Zabel Releases Private Equity Buyer/Public Target M&A Deal Study

Schulte Roth & Zabel’s M&A and Securities Group has released a new study, Private Equity Buyer/Public Target M&A Deal Study: 2015-17 Review and Comparative Analysis. The report surveys private equity buyer acquisitions of U.S. public companies from 2015 to 2017. Focusing on key terms in middle- and large-market acquisitions valued at over $100 million, the Deal Study also compares the findings with previous analysis of transactions from 2013 to 2014.

Highlights from the study:

• One-step mergers continue to be more popular than two-step tender offers. Approximately 84 percent of all 2015-17 transactions were structured as one-step mergers rather than two-step tender offers followed by back-end mergers, up from 71 percent of all 2013-14 transactions.
• All of the 2015-17 transactions provided the buyer with match rights and all but one with “last look” match rights.
• Closing conditions for buyer financing continue to be essentially nonexistent, with specific performance rights and reverse termination fees constituting the target’s deal protections.

View the full study here. 

“For this Deal Study, we reviewed recent acquisitions of U.S. public companies. Among many takeaways, we continue to observe ‘market practice’ regarding several key deal terms. The multi-year comparative analysis also revealed evolving trends,” commented Richard A. Presutti, SRZ partner and co-chair of the M&A and Securities Group.

“We are pleased to present this Deal Study. The detailed analysis offered in this publication will be a valuable resource for the private equity community,” said Alan S. Waldenberg, chair of SRZ’s Executive Committee.

About SRZ’s M&A and Securities Group

SRZ’s M&A and Securities Group advises private investment funds, portfolio companies and publicly traded companies in public and private M&A transactions, including leveraged buyouts, “going private” transactions, tender offers and proxy contests, cross-border transactions and leveraged recapitalizations. Our clients include financial and strategic buyers and sellers and financial advisers in domestic and cross-border transactions across a wide range of business sectors, including automotive, airlines, hospitality, banking, chemicals, distribution services, supermarket, financial services, health care, investment management, media, real estate, manufacturing and telecommunications.

Consistently recognized for industry-leading deals, SRZ recently won two “Deal of the Year” awards at the 2018 International M&A Advisor Awards, the “M&A Deal of the Year” award at the 2017 M&A Advisor Awards and two “Deal of the Year” awards at the 2017 Americas M&A Atlas Awards, Middle Markets.