Despite a pullback in public markets at the end of Q4, M&A activity remained strong in 2018, finishing the year with the second-highest total deal value on record.
The average EV / EBITDA multiple across North America and Europe rose to 7.2x driven by increased competition and an abundance of undeployed capital.
Amid rising interest rates and concerns of a softening economy, 2018 saw a decrease in the amount of debt utilized to fund transactions. Notably, the average debt utilization by middle market private equity firms dropped by half a turn of EBITDA.
Despite concerns of an economic slowdown, fundraising activity remained strong with a reported $109.5 billion raised by middle market private equity firms alone.
Download M&A and Capital Markets Update Here: M&A and Capital Markets Update Q4 2018
For more information on M+A transactions and industry insights, read our blogs.