Spectrum Equity Mergers and Acquisitions Summary

Private Equity Profile

In the last 3 years, Spectrum Equity has acquired 3 companies. It has also invested in 16 others.

Spectrum Equity’s most common sectors for investment are internet software and services (31%) and software (20%). The Firm’s most common investment types include growth capital (49%) and buyout (lbo, mbo, mbi) (19%). In total, Spectrum Equity has invested in 24 US states and 9 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 8 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 Activity136
    • M&A Buy Activity82
    • M&A Sell Activity54
  • Total Sectors Invested 14
  • Total Countries Invested 9
  • M&A Buy/Sell Connections 78
  • M&A Advisors 6

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 ≤ '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20 T
Buy (3.8/yr) # 63 1 4 4 7 3 82
vol $2.6B $2.6B
Sell (2.8/yr) # 40 6 4 2 2 - 54
vol $16.0B $4.5B $3.6B $24.1B
  136

Most Recent M&A

Company Date Value Type
CINC Systems 2020-06-01 - Growth Capital
Duluth, Georgia · www.cincsystems.com
DispatchTrack 2020-05-01 - Growth Capital
San Jose, California · www.dispatchtrack.com
OurFamilyWizard 2020-04-30 - Growth Capital
Minneapolis, Minnesota · www.ourfamilywizard.com
Varicent 2019-11-25 - Divestiture
Toronto, Ontario · www.varicent.com
Spreedly, Inc. 2019-11-13 - Growth Capital
Durham, North Carolina · www.spreedly.com
Kajabi LLC 2019-11-01 - Growth Capital
Irvine, California · www.kajabi.com
Datassential 2019-09-16 - Growth Capital
Chicago, Illinois · www.datassential.com
Visual Lease LLC 2019-07-16 - Growth Capital
Woodbridge, New Jersey · www.visuallease.com
Definitive Healthcare LLC 2019-06-05 - Recapitalization
Framingham, Massachusetts · www.definitivehc.com
Ethoca, Inc. 2019-03-12 - Add-on Acquisition
Austin, Texas · www.ethoca.com
View All >>

Portfolio M&A

Company Acquired Add-On/Sale Date #
Varicent 2019-11-25 Symon AI 2020-01-21 1
Toronto, Ontario · www.varicent.com , Ontario · www.symon.ai
ExamSoft Worldwide, Inc. 2014-05-07 Liftupp Ltd. 2019-03-05 1
Boca Raton, Florida · www.examsoft.com Liverpool, United Kingdom · www.liftupp.com
PWNHealth LLC 2015-09-28 Bind Health 2016-01-11 1
New York, New York · www.pwnhealth.com New York, New York
SVMK Inc. 2009-04-21 TechValidate Software, Inc. 2015-08-04 5
Palo Alto, California · www.surveymonkey.com Emeryville, California · www.techvalidate.com
ExactBid, Inc. 2014-12-18 Narrative1 Holdings LLC 2015-07-07 1
San Jose, California · www.exactbid.com Plymouth, New Hampshire · www.narrative1.com
SVMK Inc. 2009-04-21 Fluidware 2014-08-04 4
Palo Alto, California · www.surveymonkey.com Ottawa, Ontario · www.fluidware.com
SVMK Inc. 2009-04-21 MarketTools, Inc. 2012-07-09 1
Palo Alto, California · www.surveymonkey.com San Francisco, California · www.markettools.com
SVMK Inc. 2009-04-21 Wufoo 2011-04-01 3
Palo Alto, California · www.surveymonkey.com , United States
SVMK Inc. 2009-04-21 Clicktools Ltd. 2011-01-11 2
Palo Alto, California · www.surveymonkey.com Dorset, United Kingdom
SVMK Inc. 2009-04-21 Precision Polling LLC 2010-06-21 1
Palo Alto, California · www.surveymonkey.com Seattle, Washington

M&A by Sector

Sector Current # Value All-time # Value
Internet Software and Services 16 (47%) - 25 (30%) -
Software 9 (26%) - 16 (19%) 213M (8%)
Information Technology 4 (12%) - 8 (10%) -
Communications - - 6 (7%) 237M (9%)
Information Services 1 (3%) - 5 (6%) 1.7B (66%)
Business Services - - 5 (6%) 200M (8%)
Media 1 (3%) - 5 (6%) -
Financial Services - - 4 (5%) -
Education 2 (6%) - 3 (4%) -
Healthcare Services 1 (3%) - 2 (2%) 232M (9%)
Digital Media - - 1 (1%) -
Insurance - - 1 (1%) -
Marketing - - 1 (1%) -
Publishing - - 1 (1%) -
Total 34 - 83 $2.6B

Acquisitions By Geo

State/Country Current # Value All-time # Value
United States 29 (85%) - 72 (87%) 2.4B (91%)
  California 8 (24%) - 15 (18%) 200M (8%)
  New York 5 (15%) - 11 (13%) 122M (5%)
  Massachusetts 3 (9%) - 5 (6%) -
  Illinois 2 (6%) - 5 (6%) -
  Texas 1 (3%) - 3 (4%) 129M (5%)
  Washington 1 (3%) - 3 (4%) -
  Utah - - 3 (4%) 1.6B (61%)
  Pennsylvania - - 3 (4%) -
  New Jersey 2 (6%) - 2 (2%) -
  Florida 1 (3%) - 2 (2%) -
  Missouri 1 (3%) - 2 (2%) -
  Tennessee - - 2 (2%) 232M (9%)
  Kansas - - 2 (2%) -
  Connecticut - - 2 (2%) -
  Colorado - - 2 (2%) -
  Maryland - - 2 (2%) -
  Georgia 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  Virginia 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  Oklahoma 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  North Carolina 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  Minnesota 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
  Wisconsin - - 1 (1%) 84M (3%)
  New Hampshire - - 1 (1%) -
  Kentucky - - 1 (1%) -
United Kingdom - - 3 (4%) -
Canada 2 (6%) - 2 (2%) -
  Ontario 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
Germany 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
Hungary 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
Ireland 1 (3%) - 1 (1%) -
France - - 1 (1%) 237M (9%)
Spain - - 1 (1%) -
Australia - - 1 (1%) -
Domestic 29 (85%) - 72 (87%) 2.4B (91%)
Cross-border 5 (15%) - 11 (13%) 237M (9%)
Total 34 - 83 $2.6B

Acquisitions by Deal Type

Type Current # Value All-time # Value
Growth Capital 26 (76%) - 40 (48%) -
Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) 3 (9%) - 15 (18%) 122M (5%)
Recapitalization 3 (9%) - 6 (7%) 84M (3%)
Stake Purchase - - 6 (7%) -
Venture 1 (3%) - 5 (6%) -
Going Private - - 4 (5%) 1.7B (66%)
Secondary Buyout - - 4 (5%) 432M (17%)
Divestiture 1 (3%) - 2 (2%) 237M (9%)
Merger - - 1 (1%) -
Total 34 - 83 $2.6B

Exits by Deal Type

Type Total # Value
Trade Sale - Public Company 21 (39%) 15.6B (68%)
Trade Sale 11 (20%) 1.3B (6%)
IPO 9 (17%) -
Secondary Sale 7 (13%) 4.2B (18%)
Merger 4 (7%) 2.0B (9%)
Recapitalization 2 (4%) -
Total 54 $23.1B

Top M&A Advisors

Financial Deals
Rosenblatt Securities, Inc.
 1
Triple Tree LLC
 1
Legal Deals
Latham & Watkins
 5
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
 2
Choate Hall & Stewart LLP
 2

Deal Values

buy # Total
> $1B 1 $1.6B
$100M to $1B 5 $920M
< $100M 1 $84M
TOTAL $2.6B
Largest Ancestry.com, Inc.
$1.6B (2012-10-22)
sell # Total
> $1B 8 $17.3B
$100M to $1B 15 $6.8B
< $100M 1 $50M
TOTAL $24.1B
Largest BATS Global Markets, Inc.
$3.4B (2017-03-01)

M&A Connections

Deals %
Acquired from
PE Firm(s)
78%
7 78%
Strategic(s)
22%
2 22%
Exited to
PE Firm(s)
23%
11 23%
Strategic(s)
77%
37 77%

Investor Summary

Size

Large

PE Assets

4.7B USD

Established

1994

Specialist/Generalist

Specialist

Leadership

Brion Applegate

Co-Founder & Senior Managing Director

Adam Margolin

Managing Director

Benjamin Spero

Managing Director

Christopher Mitchell

Managing Director

Jeffrey Haywood

Managing Director

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