Spectrum Equity Mergers and Acquisitions Summary

Private Equity Firm Profile

In the last 3 years, Spectrum Equity has acquired 2 companies. It has also invested in 9 others.

Spectrum Equity’s most common sectors for investment areinternet software and services (35%) and software (16%) . The Firm’s most common investment types include growth capital (50%) and buyout (lbo, mbo, mbi) (15%). In total, Spectrum Equity has invested in 25 US states and 8 different countries. Its largest (disclosed) acquisition occurred in 2012 when it acquired Ancestry.com for $1.6B.

In the last 3 years, Spectrum Equity has exited 13 companies. The Firm’s most common exit type is trade sale (62%). Spectrum Equity’s largest (disclosed) exit occurred in 2017 when it sold BATS Global Markets for $3.4B.

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M&A Summary

  • M&A Total Activity171
    • M&A Buy Activity99
    • M&A Sell Activity72
  • Total Sectors Invested 14
  • Total Countries Invested 8
  • M&A Buy/Sell Connections 82
  • M&A Advisors 8

Spectrum Equity

1 International Place, 35th Floor,
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
United States
(617) 464-4600
www.spectrumequity.com

Spectrum Equity Management L.P. is a private equity investor focused on service businesses. Spectrum specifically targets established businesses in the media, communications, IT, information, and business services industries. The Firm looks to commit $25 to $100 million of equity capital per transaction and focuses on opportunities throughout North America and Western Europe. Prospective transaction situations include leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, acquisition financings, and secondary purchases. Spectrum Equity Investors was formed in 1994 and has offices in Boston, Massachusetts and Menlo Park, California.


Investment Criteria

Sectors of Interest: Business Services, Communications, Consumer Products, Consumer Services, Engineering, Financial Services, Gaming, Healthcare Services, Information Technology, Insurance, Internet Software and Services, Marketing, Media, Publishing, Software

Target Transaction Types: Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI), Consolidation, Divestiture, Growth Capital, Recapitalization, Acquisition Financing

Geographic Preferences: East US, Midwest US, South US, West US, Canada

Transaction Criteria Min Max
Target Revenue - -
Target EBITDA - -
Investment Size 25 100
Enterprise Value - -
values in millions of USD

M&A Summary

Buy vs Sell

Year ≤ '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 '24 T
Buy (3.2/yr) # 83 5 5 4 2 - 99
vol $4.7B $156M $4.9B
Sell (3.2/yr) # 56 3 6 2 4 1 72
vol $24.1B $2.8B $532M $27.4B
  171

Most Recent M&A

Company Date Value Type
Jimdo GmbH 2024-05-02 - Sold to Management
Hamburg, Germany · www.jimdo.com
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Ltd. 2023-11-17 - Growth Capital
London, United Kingdom · www.benchmarkminerals.com
Animoto, Inc. 2023-08-22 - Trade Sale
New York, New York · www.animoto.com
VBA 2023-08-14 156M USD Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)
Germantown, Wisconsin · www.vbasoftware.com
Enrollease, Inc. 2023-04-04 - Trade Sale
San Francisco, California · www.ease.com
Teacher Synergy LLC 2023-03-02 - Trade Sale
New York, New York · www.teacherspayteachers.com
Digital Marketing Institute 2023-02-08 - Trade Sale
Dublin, Ireland · www.digitalmarketinginstitute.com
Extreme Reach, Inc. 2022-09-07 - Secondary Sale
Dedham, Massachusetts · www.extremereach.com
Payer Compass LLC 2022-08-01 - Trade Sale
Plano, Texas · www.payercompass.com
WIN Reality LLC 2022-06-03 - Growth Capital
Austin, Texas · www.winreality.com
View All >>

Portfolio M&A

Company Acquired Add-On/Sale Date #
Everly Well, Inc. 2021-03-24 PWNHealth LLC 2021-03-24 1
Austin, Texas · www.everlywell.com New York, New York · www.pwnhealth.com
The Knot Worldwide Inc. 2018-09-25 Hitched Ltd. 2020-02-03 4
Chevy Chase, Maryland · www.theknotww.com London, United Kingdom · www.hitched.co.uk
The Knot Worldwide Inc. 2018-09-25 WeddingWire, Inc. 2018-09-25 3
Chevy Chase, Maryland · www.theknotww.com Bethesda, Maryland · www.weddingwire.com

M&A by Sector

Sector Current # Value All-time # Value
Internet Software and Services 19 (58%) 1.1B (100%) 35 (35%) 1.1B (22%)
Software 4 (12%) - 16 (16%) 213M (4%)
Information Services 3 (9%) - 9 (9%) 1.7B (35%)
Communications - - 7 (7%) 1.4B (29%)
Information Technology 3 (9%) - 7 (7%) -
Business Services 1 (3%) - 6 (6%) 200M (4%)
Education 2 (6%) - 4 (4%) -
Financial Services - - 4 (4%) -
Media - - 4 (4%) -
Healthcare Services 1 (3%) - 3 (3%) 232M (5%)
Marketing - - 2 (2%) -
Digital Media - - 1 (1%) -
Insurance - - 1 (1%) -
Publishing - - 1 (1%) -
Total 33 $1.1B 100 $4.9B

Acquisitions By Geo

State/Country Current # Value All-time # Value
United States 31 (94%) 1.1B (100%) 88 (88%) 4.7B (95%)
  California 8 (24%) - 19 (19%) 200M (4%)
  New York 7 (21%) - 15 (15%) 122M (2%)
  Massachusetts 2 (6%) - 6 (6%) -
  Texas 2 (6%) - 5 (5%) 129M (3%)
  Illinois 2 (6%) - 5 (5%) -
  Maryland 2 (6%) 933M (86%) 4 (4%) 933M (19%)
  Utah 1 (3%) - 4 (4%) 1.6B (33%)
  Washington - - 3 (3%) -
  Pennsylvania - - 3 (3%) -
  New Jersey 1 (3%) - 2 (2%) 1.2B (25%)
  Wisconsin 1 (3%) 156M (14%) 2 (2%) 240M (5%)
  Missouri 1 (3%) - 2 (2%) -
  Tennessee - - 2 (2%) 232M (5%)
  Kansas - - 2 (2%) -
  Florida - - 2 (2%) -
  Connecticut - - 2 (2%) -
  Colorado - - 2 (2%) -
  Oregon 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  North Carolina 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  Minnesota 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  Georgia 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  Oklahoma - - 1 (1%) -
  New Hampshire - - 1 (1%) -
  Kentucky - - 1 (1%) -
  Virginia - - 1 (1%) -
United Kingdom 1 (3%) - 5 (5%) -
Canada 1 (3%) - 2 (2%) -
  Ontario 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  Newfoundland - - 1 (1%) -
France - - 1 (1%) 237M (5%)
Germany - - 1 (1%) -
Spain - - 1 (1%) -
Australia - - 1 (1%) -
Ireland - - 1 (1%) -
Domestic 31 (94%) 1.1B (100%) 88 (88%) 4.7B (95%)
Cross-border 2 (6%) - 12 (12%) 237M (5%)
Total 33 $1.1B 100 $4.9B

Acquisitions by Deal Type

Type Current # Value All-time # Value
Growth Capital 24 (73%) - 50 (50%) -
Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) 2 (6%) 156M (14%) 15 (15%) 278M (6%)
Venture 4 (12%) - 9 (9%) -
Stake Purchase 1 (3%) - 7 (7%) -
Recapitalization - - 6 (6%) 84M (2%)
Going Private 1 (3%) 933M (86%) 5 (5%) 3.9B (79%)
Secondary Buyout - - 5 (5%) 432M (9%)
Divestiture 1 (3%) - 2 (2%) 237M (5%)
Merger - - 1 (1%) -
Total 33 $1.1B 100 $4.9B

Exits by Deal Type

Type Total # Value
Trade Sale - Public Company 24 (33%) 18.9B (71%)
Trade Sale 18 (25%) 1.3B (5%)
IPO 12 (17%) -
Secondary Sale 9 (13%) 4.2B (16%)
Merger 5 (7%) 2.0B (7%)
Recapitalization 2 (3%) -
Divestiture 1 (1%) 300M (1%)
Sold to Management 1 (1%) -
Total 72 $26.7B

Top M&A Advisors

Financial Deals
Solomon Partners
 1
Triple Tree LLC
 1
Rosenblatt Securities, Inc.
 1
Legal Deals
Latham & Watkins
 8
Choate Hall & Stewart
 2
Kirkland & Ellis
 2

Deal Values

buy # Total
> $1B 2 $2.8B
$100M to $1B 7 $2.0B
< $100M 1 $84M
TOTAL $4.9B
Largest Ancestry.com, Inc.
$1.6B (2012-10-22)
sell # Total
> $1B 9 $20.1B
$100M to $1B 17 $7.3B
< $100M 1 $50M
TOTAL $27.4B
Largest BATS Global Markets, Inc.
$3.4B (2017-03-01)

M&A Connections

Deals
Acquired from
Investor(s)
8%
8 (8%)
Strategic(s)
2%
2 (2%)
Exited to
Investor(s)
14%
10 (14%)
Strategic(s)
67%
48 (67%)

Investor Summary

Investor Type

Private Equity Firm

Size

Large

PE Assets

4.7B USD

Established

1994

Specialist/Generalist

Specialist

Leadership

Brion Applegate

Co-founder

Adam Margolin

Managing Director

Benjamin Spero

Managing Director

Christopher Mitchell

Managing Director

Jeffrey Haywood

Managing Director

FAQ

When was Spectrum Equity founded?

Spectrum Equity was founded in 1994.

What type of investor is Spectrum Equity?

Spectrum Equity is a private equity firm.

Where is Spectrum Equity headquartered?

Spectrum Equity is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

How much capital does Spectrum Equity have under management?

Spectrum Equity has 4.7B USD under management.

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