Merger and acquisition deals totalled $2.4 billion
October 18, 2011
According to a new report from Lux Research, merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in the first six months of 2011 have totaled twice those made during 2010.
M&A transactions totaled $2.42 billion in all three sectors during the first half of 2011, more than double the $1.20 billion exchanged during all of 2010. Two deals comprised most activity in each year: ABB’s acquisition of Ventyx in 2010 ($1 billion), and Toshiba’s acquisition of Landis+Gyr in 2011 ($2.3 billion). The electric vehicle, smart grid, and energy storage sectors saw a total of thirteen transactions in 2010, and another twelve during the first half of 2011.
Among the report’s key findings:
• Seed funding and Series A deals have disappeared for smart grid, energy storage, and EV start-ups as venture capitalists (VCs) focus their efforts on maturing companies in their portfolio rather than seeking new opportunities.
• Companies that received no outside funding accounted for 44% of all M&A transactions, while companies that completed a Series C round or later account for only 28% of acquisitions. Overall, acquirers in the smart-grid space are favoring low-value acquisitions of small companies with a technology or product that supplements their existing product portfolio and has some proven commercial adoption.
• The automotive and fuel cell segments combined represented 66% of all VC spending in 2011. Automotive continues to thrive thanks to six vehicle start-ups that have claimed $664 million since the beginning of 2010. Meanwhile, fuel cell companies raised $371 million over 39 transactions since the start of 2010.
