S O F T WA R EI N D U S T R Y E Q U I T YR E P O R T
Software Equity Group, LLC 12220 El Camino Real, Suite 320 San Diego, CA 92130 www.softwareequity.com p: (858) 509-2800 f: (858) 509-2818
This Report may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the expressed prior written authorization of Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Software Equity Group registers each Report with the U.S. Copyright Office and vigorously enforces its intellectual property rights. Copyright 2011 Software Equity Group, L.L.C., All Rights Reserved
www.softwareequity.com
6% 4.8% 4% 2.5% 2% 3.9% 3.0% 3.2% 2.6% 1.3% 2.7% 2.1% 1.1% 1.2% 2.1% 1.5% 2.2% 1.7% 3.6% 5.0% 3.7% 2.6% 3.2%
0%
4Q04
-2%
4Q05
4Q06
4Q07
-0.7%
4Q08
-2.7%
-0.7%
4Q09
4Q10
-6%
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. manufacturers new orders of nondefense capital goods. The negative contributors were the index of supplier deliveries and manufacturers new orders for consumer goods and materials. The average weekly manufacturing hours and real money supply held steady in December. It seems the modest improvement in GDP growth had a modest impact on unemployment. The U.S. unemployment rate was 9.4% as 2010 ended, still disturbingly high, but an improvement over the 2010 peak of 9.7% in 1Q10 (Figure 1). Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 103,000 jobs in December, with leisure, healthcare and hospitality adding jobs, while other industries saw little change. While no cause for celebration, serious job cutting appears to have subsided, and we believe 2011 will see continued improvement.
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions 5% - 7% growth in domestic IT capital spending, not quite up to par with 2010, but that could change if the U.S. economy improves beyond current forecasts. It appears most of 2011s IT capital spending will remain focused on infrastructure, as enterprise CIOs seek to further enhance their IT ROI. Indeed, infrastructure IT categories constitute eight of the top ten IT spending priorities for enterprise CIOs, according to the latest Goldman Sachs Survey (Figure 2). Despite the focus on infrastructure, SaaS applications are finally getting some respect form enterprise CIOs. SaaS applications ranked 4th highest among all product categories in the Goldman Sachs Spending Survey, while spending for on-premise enterprise applications ranked 18th. In fact, 25% of CTOs said they would increase spending on SaaS applications, compared with only 6% planning to spend more on internally hosted applications. Figure 2: CTO Tech Spending Priorities (Highest Rankings at Top)
Servervirtualization PC hardware Businessintelligence/analytics SaaS Desktopvirtualization IT operationsmanagementsoftware Publiccloudcomputing services Storage Security software/appliances Serverhardware Social/collaborationapplications Wireless LAN TelePresence Network switching Application acceleration/WAN optimization Unified communications Smartphones On premise enterpriseapplications Application delivery controllers/loadbalancers
IT SPENDING
As a reminder, SEG considers enterprise IT spending to be one of the most important bellwethers of downstream public software company financial performance and M&A activity. Our readers will recall that large enterprises cut back sharply on spending for software, hardware and IT services in 2009 during the economic downturn. After IT spending increases of 9% in 2007 and 6% in 2008, IT capital spending declined by more than 10% in 2009. The spending cut had an almost immediate and traumatic impact on public software company revenue. To provide some perspective, we estimate every percentage increase/decrease in IT spending equates to approximately $5 billion. Enterprise customers loosened their purse strings a bit and domestic IT capital spending grew 7% 8% in 2010 according to IT Spending Surveys conducted by Goldman Sachs, Gartner and others. A good deal of that was holdover spending from 2009 when many enterprises implemented IT spending freezes. The majority of 2010s IT capital dollars were focused on infrastructure, IT expense reduction and productivity enhancements, including server virtualization, desktop virtualization, network storage and security. For 2011, most economists are projecting roughly 2| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
The latest IT spending surveys underscore how CTOs are continuing to gain comfort with SaaS deployed applications. Tight budgets and lower entry costs have helped, and concerns about security have dissipated somewhat. Of the CTOs surveyed, 55% were using some form of cloud computing today and 90% expected to be in the cloud within three years. Historically, enterprise www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. SaaS spending has been focused on less mission critical applications such as CRM and workforce management, and more recently on discrete, functionally specific SaaS applications such as expense management and supply chain/extranet collaboration. While the jury is still out about whether large numbers of enterprises will entrust mission critical tasks and data to third party hosts, there is now little doubt that cloud computing will consume a considerably larger share of the enterprise IT budget in the coming years. Theres another bright spot on the IT spending horizon. Gartners head of research, Peter Sondergaard, said recently, Emerging economies continue to be the locomotive of enterprise IT spending, substantially outpacing developed economies. Goldman Sachs echoed this sentiment, forecasting 10% international IT spending growth in 2011. What does that mean for private software company sellers that may be contemplating exit in the next three to five years? Smaller (<$50 million revenue) companies that have been very cautious about aggressively pursuing international business, setting up overseas sales offices and signing foreign distributors because of risk, cost and distraction may now be well advised to look
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions beyond North America for incremental growth. Reputable distributors with proven track records in carefully targeted international territories are a good place to start.
Figure 3: Major Market Indices Compared to the SEG Software, Internet and SaaS Indices
DOW S&P 500 NASDAQ SEG SaaS Index SEG S/W Index SEG Internet Index
50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% -10.0% -20.0% Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. 2010. As of December 31, the median stock price of the SEG Software Index reflected a 22.0% gain over its January 4 opening price. Investors, it seems, continued to resonate with the software industrys downside buffer - the ability to sustain and grow healthy operating margins despite lackluster revenue growth, but also were willing to place more upside bets on the software industrys ability to quickly capitalize on material improvement in the GDP growth rate. Another factor was likely at play, as well. The financial and stock perfomance of some, whetted the appetities of many. Apples stellar iPad and IPhone successes, the astronomical private stock valuations of Facebook, Groupon, Twitter and LinkedIn, and the rapid growth and expansion of large public firms such as Google, Amazon and Netflix created an updraft that lifted the stock prices and EV/Rev valuations of many other public software and technology companies. As a result, 179 out of the 238 (75.2%) public companies comprising our Software, SaaS and Internet indices reported higher year-to-date (YTD) stock prices at the close of 2010. Ten achieved YTD market returns greater than 145% (Figure 4). Figure 4: High Flyers 2010 Stock Market Return
Company BSQUARE Corporation Travelzoo, Inc. OpenTable Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. MIND C.T.I. Ltd. InsWeb Corp. Zix Corporation Radware Ltd. F5 Networks, Inc. Support.com, Inc. 2010 High Flyers - Stock Market Return Ticker BSQR Category Development Tools, Operating Systems & Application Testing Software 2010 Stock Return 250% 237% 177% 170% 169% 152% 150% 148% 146% 145%
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions median EV/Revenue multiple of 1.6x. Even more encouraging, the median EV/Revenue multiple reached 2.6x in 4Q10, the highest since 4Q07. The median valuation of the SEG Software Index has been at or above 2.0x for five consecutive quarters, the first time thats occurred since 1Q07 1Q08 (Figures 5 and 6). Figures 5 and 6: SEG Software Index Key Statistics Annually and Quarterly
SEG - Software: Median Metrics Measure EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings Current Ratio Cash & Eq ($M) Gross Profit Margin 2008 2009 2010 1.9x 1.6x 2.3x 12.0x 9.9x 12.4x 19.5x 19.2x 27.0x 1.9 1.9 2.0 $72.2 $80.3 $92.6 67.8% 67.5% 68.6%
EBITDA Margin 14.3% 16.7% 17.4% Net Income Margin 7.4% 6.9% 7.3% TTM Revenue Growth 14.0% 5.0% 4.5% TTM Total Revenue ($M) $202.9 $240.2 $239.8 TTM Total EBITDA ($M) $27.1 $34.6 $35.6 Debt / Equity Ratio 26.3% 26.6% 25.0%
SEG - Software: Median Metrics Measure EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings Current Ratio Cash & Eq ($M) Gross Profit Margin EBITDA Margin Net Income Margin TTM Revenue Growth TTM Total Revenue ($M) TTM Total EBITDA ($M) Debt / Equity Ratio 4Q09 1Q10 2Q10 3Q10 4Q10 2.0x 2.2x 2.2x 2.1x 2.6x 12.9x 13.1x 12.0x 11.6x 13.6x 27.2x 27.4x 25.6x 23.7x 26.3x 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 $89.1 $94.6 $98.7 $101.3 $101.6 68.4% 68.6% 69.0% 69.0% 68.6% 16.3% 16.9% 16.6% 17.6% 17.8% 5.9% 7.3% 8.5% 8.2% 7.9% -1.6% -0.1% 1.0% 4.4% 8.2% $239.2 $239.0 $232.7 $228.0 $226.8 $32.2 $36.4 $35.4 $36.8 $35.2 25.5% 26.6% 21.6% 23.2% 25.4%
TZOO Internet - eCommerce & Portals OPEN Internet - eCommerce & Portals MGIC Development Tools, Operating Systems & Application Testing Software Internet - eCommerce & Portals Security Networking & Connectivity Storage & Systems Management Software
During the first three quarters of 2010, risk adverse investors continued to favor the largest (annual revenue) public software companies over their much smaller counterparts. For example, in 3Q10, SEG Software Index companies with revenues greater than $1 billion posted a median EV/Revenue multiple of 2.9x, compared to a median multiple of 2.2x for companies with revenues between $100 million and $200 million. In Q4, however, concerns about the economy eased, tech sector success stories abounded, www.softwareequity.com
20.0x 15.0x 10.0x 5.0x 0.0x Jan00 Jan01 Jan02 Jan03 Jan04 Jan05 Jan06 Jan07 Jan08 Jan09 Jan10
TotalMedian EBITDA($millions)
enthusiasm grew and pent-up demand could no longer be contained. The median EV/Revenue multiple of SEG Software Index companies with revenues between $100 million and $200 million soared to 3.5x, and the median EV/Revenue multiple of public software companies with revenues greater than $200 million and less than $1 billion increased sharply from 2.1x in 3Q10 to 2.6x in the fourth quarter. Companies with revenue less than $100 million traded at a median EV/Revenue multiple of 1.4x in 4Q10, only slightly better than 1.2x in 3Q10, and well below the SEG Software Index median EV/Revenue multiple of 2.6x (Figure 11). The median EV/EBITDA multiple of all software companies comprising our SEG Software Index was 12.4x for all 2010, a notable improvement over 2009s 9.9x. Hopefully, the median EV/EBITDA multiple of 13.6x in the final quarter is a portent of continually improving market valuations in 2011. That said, 4Q10s median EV/EBITDA multiple of 13.6x is still more than 12% lower than the median EV/EBITDA multiple of 15.6x over the past eleven years (Figure 7). Investors also showed less reluctance in 4Q10 to bet on smaller companies with lower operating income. While the median EV/EBITDA multiple of public software companies with revenues greater than $1 billion increased from 10.3x in 3Q10 to 5| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
10.9x in the final quarter, the median EV/EBITDA multiple of public software companies with revenues between $100 million and $200 million soared to 18.7x from 14.7x the prior quarter (Figure 11). Sub$100 million public software companies reported a median EV/EBITDA multiple of 13.5x in 4Q10, a notable improvement over the prior quarters 11.0x. Interestingly, the 10.9x median EV/EBITDA trading multiple of $1 billion+ public software companies was the lowest by far of all revenue categories in 4Q10, despite having EBITDA margins nearly double their smaller peers. In contrast to 2009, when the highest EV/Revenue multiples were typically awarded to companies with the strongest EBITDA margins, 2010 saw attention shift to revenue growth. The highest EV/Revenue multiples (median 4.6x) went to those public software companies that achieved greater than 30% TTM revenue growth in 4Q10. Given the tepid 4.5% TTM revenue growth of the SEG SW Index companies, it is no surprise that investors are pushing valuations higher when companies display above average revenue growth (Figure 8). As for TTM EBITDA margins, the rule of thumb in the current market environment is the higher a public software companys TTM EBITDA margins, the higher its trading multiple (Figure 9).
www.softwareequity.com
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions Nine of the ten companies on the high flyer list achieved annual revenue growth over 25.0%. The lone exception was Rovi Corporation which achieved a highly respectible 17.4% TTM revenue growth and an exceptional EBITDA margin of 37.7%, second only to Baidu. Other high flyers found it difficult to attain that level of profitability. Seven of the ten high flyers achieved EBITDA margins above 20.0% with the remaining three at or below 13.9%, including SuccessFactors registering negative 4.0%. Again, revenue growth appears to be where investors are placing their bets. A word of caution about escalating public software company market valuations: theyre tenuous and highly dependent upon a continuing economic recovery. Should GDP growth falter, its very likely well once again see shriking IT budgets, little or no revenue growth, increased pressure on margins and falling public software company stock prices. Figure 10: High Flyers Enterprise Value/Revenue
2010 High Flyers - Enterprise Value/Revenue (Median) Ticker BIDU OPEN MELI VMW FFIV ROVI RP Category Internet - Search Engine Internet - eCommerce & Portals Internet - eCommerce & Portals Storage & Systems Management Software Networking & Connectivity Content/Document Management Enterprise Resource Planning Engineering, PLM & CAD/CAM Software Human Resource Management CRM, Sales & Marketing Software EV/R 36.0x 16.8x 13.9x 11.8x 10.7x 10.2x 10.0x 9.9x 9.6x 9.5x
Figures 8 and 9: EV/Revenue Multiple vs. TTM Revenue Growth Rate and EBITDA Margin
4.6x
3.5x 3.0x 2.5x 2.0x 1.5x 1.0x 0.5x 0.0x <= 0% > 0% <= 10% 1.0x 2.0x
3.4x
3.5x
> 10% > 20% <= 20% <= 30% TTM Revenue Growth
>= 30%
4.5x 4.0x
Median EV/Revenue
3.5x 3.0x 2.5x 2.0x 1.5x 1.0x 0.5x 0.0x <= 0% > 0% <= 10% > 10% <= 20% TTM EBITDA Margin 1.0x
>= 30%
While most of the listed companies in our tracking indices saw improved EV/Revenue multiples in 2010, ten public software, SaaS and Internet companies excelled at boosting their market valuations (Figure 10). Overall, these overachievers reported an exceptional median EV/Revenue multiple of 10.5x at the close of 2010, in no small measure due to a year end TTM median revenue growth rate of 32.9% and an impressive TTM median EBITDA margin of 27.1%. The ultimate overachiever was Baidu, often referred to as Chinas Google. Baidus median 4Q10 EV/Revenue of 36.0x, boosted by yearover-year (YoY) revenue growth of 64.5% and an EBITDA margin of 51.9% - the highest values in the respective categories for any company in the list - once again catapulted the company to the top spot on our EV/Revenue valuation list. Baidu has been a top ten EV/Revenue performer in every quarter since 2Q07, and for good reason. In the past five years, Baidus revenue skyrocketed from $17 million to over $1 billion, while its EBITDA margin swelled from 17.8% to 51.9%.
Company Baidu, Inc. OpenTable Mercadolibre, Inc. VMWare F5 Networks, Inc. Rovi Corporation RealPage
www.softwareequity.com
Figure 11: SEG Software Valuation and Financial Performance by Size of Buyer (TTM Revenue)
4Q10 TTM 4Q09 1Q10 2Q10 3Q10 4Q10 4Q09 1Q10 2Q10 3Q10 4Q10 Rev Growth Revenue Greater Than $1 billion Revenue Between $200 million and $1 billion Revenue Between $100 million and $200 million Revenue Less Than $100 million 2.9x 2.1x 2.0x 1.2x 2.9x 2.3x 2.2x 1.4x 3.0x 2.2x 2.6x 1.2x 2.9x 2.1x 2.2x 1.2x 3.1x 2.6x 3.5x 1.4x 11.7x 12.8x 15.4x 12.9x 11.4x 12.3x 16.4x 13.4x 10.2x 12.9x 17.1x 10.8x 10.3x 10.8x 14.7x 11.0x 10.9x 13.0x 18.7x 13.5x 11.8% 9.0% 9.2% 3.5% SEG Software Index Companies EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA 4Q10 EBITDA Margin 22.5% 12.6% 13.6% 12.8%
17.0% in December 2010 (Figure 12). Still, the modest decline in R&D spending did leave holes in the product roadmaps of many public software companies, which bodes well for smaller software companies with synergistic technology platforms and solutions. Figure 12: SEG SW Index R&D Expense as % of Total Revenue
20.0% 19.5%
19.0% 18.5% 18.0% 17.5% 17.0% 16.5% 16.0% 15.5% Jan07 Jan08 Jan09 Jan10
Its questionable whether public software companies can continue to squeeze expenses and improve operating margins while accelerating their revenue gowth. In a random sample of 28 companies in the SEG Software Index, 24 (86%) met or exceeded their revenue forecasts, but only five of the 28 (18%) met or exceeded their EPS forecasts (Figure 13). Indeed, only three of the 28 - Microsoft, TeleCommunication Systems and MicroStrategy - were able to meet or exceed both their revenue and earnings forecasts. Cash flow seemed to pose little problem for most public software companies in 2010. Nearly 60% of the public software companies in our tracking index increased their balance sheet cash and short term investments from the prior year.There are now 22 public software companies with over $1 billion in cash on their balance sheets, led by Microsoft, with more than $43 billion (Figure 14). Overall, the median cash and cash equivalents of the SEG Software Index grew 15.3% in 2010 (Figures 5 and 6). www.softwareequity.com
Figure 13: Expected vs. Delivered Revenue and EPS Results (as of December 31)
Company Microsoft Corporation Cisco Systems, Inc. Oracle Corporation Google Inc. Adobe Systems Incorporated Electronic Arts Inc. BMC Software, Inc. Mentor Graphics Corporation Lawson Software, Inc. MSCI Inc. TIBCO Software Inc. Avid Technology Inc. Open Text Corporation NICE Systems Ltd. CSG Systems International, Inc. QAD Inc. TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. MicroStrategy Incorporated Quest Software Inc. Blackboard Inc. Rovi Corporation American Software, Inc. PCTEL, Inc. PDF Solutions, Inc. Scientific Learning Corp. Geeknet, Inc. Pervasive Software Inc. NetSol Technologies Inc.
: Exceeded or Met Expectations : Did Not Meet Expectations
Revenue
EPS
Figure 14: SEG Software Index Companies with over $1 billion of Cash & Cash Equivalents (as of December 31)
MicrosoftCorporation CiscoSystems, Inc. Google Inc. Oracle Corporation EMC NetworkAppliance,Inc. SAP VMWare Activision,Inc. VeriSign,Inc. CA,Inc. Adobe Systems Incorporated Symantec Corporation Electronic ArtsInc. BMCSoftware, Inc. AmdocsLimited TradeStation Group,Inc. Dassault Systmes IntuitInc. Autodesk,Inc. Novell,Inc. McAfee,Inc. $0.0 $5.0 $10.0 $15.0 $20.0 $25.0 $30.0 $35.0 $40.0 $45.0 $50.0 Cash& Cash Equivalents ($ billions)
www.softwareequity.com
SEG - Software: Median Metrics by Category EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA Revenue Growth 3Q10 4Q10 EBITDA Growth EBITDA Margin YTD Stock Return 2010
2Q10
3Q10
4Q10
4Q09
1Q10
2Q10
Infrastructure Software Database & File Management Development Tools, Operating Systems & Application Testing Software Enterprise Application Integration Messaging, Conferencing & Communications Networking & Connectivity Security Storage & Systems Management Software Wireless Median Billing & Service Management Business Intelligence Content/Document Management Customer Relationship Management, Marketing & Sales Software Education & eLearning Electronic Design Automation Engineering, PLM & CAD/CAM Software Enterprise Resource Planning Entertainment Financial Services Software Healthcare Multimedia, Graphics, Digital Media Supply Chain Management & Logistics Median 2.1x 1.6x 1.4x 1.8x 2.2x 3.5x 2.4x 1.3x 2.3x 1.5x 2.4x 1.7x 0.6x 2.2x 1.4x 1.7x 2.0x 1.0x 2.3x 3.7x 2.6x 1.6x 1.9x 1.9x 1.9x 1.4x 1.8x 2.4x 3.7x 2.5x 1.7x 2.4x 2.2x 2.3x 2.0x 0.8x 2.0x 1.5x 1.8x 2.0x 1.0x 2.5x 2.8x 2.9x 1.6x 2.0x 1.9x 2.2x 1.5x 1.9x 2.4x 3.9x 2.5x 1.6x 2.3x 1.7x 1.9x 1.9x 1.0x 1.6x 1.6x 1.9x 2.0x 1.0x 2.6x 3.4x 2.7x 1.8x 2.0x 2.1x 2.0x 1.7x 1.6x 2.3x 4.0x 2.7x 1.1x 2.2x 1.4x 2.0x 1.7x 0.8x 1.3x 1.5x 2.1x 2.0x 0.9x 2.2x 3.4x 2.5x 1.5x 2.0x 2.7x 2.7x 2.4x 2.6x 2.9x 3.8x 3.1x 1.1x 2.7x 1.4x 3.1x 2.1x 0.8x 1.3x 1.9x 2.5x 2.0x 1.2x 2.8x 3.5x 3.3x 1.8x 2.3x 8.8x 14.0x 10.0x 11.0x 13.6x 14.7x 13.8x 15.3x 13.2x 7.4x 12.8x 7.4x 11.8x 16.3x 9.4x 12.4x 10.2x 7.2x 10.1x 16.0x 17.7x 13.1x 12.2x 9.1x 9.4x 9.8x 14.1x 19.9x 15.1x 11.8x 11.1x 12.6x 10.9x 13.7x 7.2x 11.4x 14.0x 21.3x 14.9x 11.2x 8.8x 13.4x 15.9x 18.2x 13.1x 12.4x 9.0x 9.4x 11.2x 13.6x 17.1x 14.5x 11.5x 13.9x 12.8x 8.4x 13.8x 8.2x 8.3x 14.9x 22.8x 14.5x 10.8x 6.0x 8.8x 15.5x 18.4x 11.9x 11.8x 9.1x 7.3x 13.0x 13.4x 15.5x 12.9x 11.0x 11.0x 11.0x 7.0x 20.9x 7.5x 15.4x 12.8x 26.4x 16.4x 10.0x 5.9x 8.6x 13.8x 13.7x 9.3x 11.8x 10.9x 8.4x 21.8x 22.4x 19.6x 14.1x 12.2x 15.2x 13.9x 6.7x 25.6x 8.1x 11.8x 18.2x 19.2x 16.7x 12.2x 6.3x 10.0x 17.3x 14.5x 10.8x 13.0x 6.1% 21.5% 16.9% 10.3% 16.9% 11.8% 11.2% 15.1% 14.5% 15.2% 11.1% 0.8% -2.7% 9.4% 5.5% 7.6% 4.0% -10.5% 7.7% 16.3% 6.4% 5.4% 6.3% 4.5% 24.3% 31.4% 40.2% 31.6% 24.7% 21.0% 6.4% 23.3% 10.0% -24.2% 11.7% -18.0% 18.0% 126.5% 57.3% 0.4% 7.4% 18.4% 10.8% 12.6% -4.2% 12.1% 22.6% 21.1% 13.1% 15.3% 23.3% 20.3% 20.0% 7.4% 19.6% 20.3% 14.8% 25.2% -9.1% 13.0% 8.4% 19.8% 17.2% 6.6% 21.3% 22.3% 16.6% 11.2% 17.8% 9.5% 13.3% 26.5% 16.5% 46.4% 6.3% 13.0% -9.4% 9.8% 0.5% -7.9% -1.6% -12.8% -10.3% 19.7% 25.6% 6.2% -20.2% 10.2% 3.1% -1.4% -0.4% 4.3%
Application Software
The Infrastructure Software group is comprised primarily of utilities, tools, middleware, systems, platforms and technologies to create, integrate, optimize, deliver, monitor, store and protect enterprise applications. The Application Software group consists primarily of solutions to perform, analyze and optimize mission critical business functions in one, or many, industry sectors. In 2010, Infrastructure Software companies outpaced their Application Software counterparts across all metrics tracked (Figure 15). Particularly noteworthy was the Infrastructure groups median 2.7x EV/Revenue multiple and 14.5% TTM revenue growth in 4Q10. Those results mirror IT spending priorities. CIOs spent their precious IT dollars on infrastructure improvements that would later enable them to quickly and effectively deploy mission critical applications when GDP ramps and IT purse strings loosen. As for the financial performance of specific product categories in 4Q10, 16 of the 21 software categories we track touted YoY increases in their median EV/Revenue multiples. For the fourth consecutive quarter, Security software providers boasted the highest median EV/Revenue 9| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
valuation among all categories (3.8x), led by Check Point Software (7.6x), Zix Corporation (6.6x) and Sourcefire (4.8x) (Figure 16). Other categories fared not nearly as well. CRM software providers (perpetual license, non-SaaS) remained in the EV/Revenue basement, with median multiple of only 0.8x EV/Revenue at the close of 4Q10; Wireless solution providers were only slightly ahead, with a median 1.1x EV/Revenue. The Development Tools category recovered the most market valuation in 2010, increasing 68.8% to a median EV/Revenue multiple of 2.7x, up from 1.6x in 4Q09. The pop in trading multiple was attributable to Magic Software, GeekNet and BSQUARE, which touted YoY median EV/Revenue multiple increases of 223.4%, 134.0% and 60.5%, respectively, in 4Q10. Investors were apparently heartened by a median 21.5% TTM revenue growth rate of Development Tools companies in 4Q10, the highest revenue growth rate among the 21 categories comprising the SEG SW Index. It wasnt all pretty. Four product categories, Wireless, Billing & Service Management, Education & eLearning and Healthcare, declined www.softwareequity.com
Figure 16: SEG Software Index Median Q410 EV/Revenue Multiple by Product Category
Security Healthcare Multimedia, Graphics, Digital Media BusinessIntelligence Storage &Systems Management Software Networking&Connectivity FinancialServicesSoftware Database &File Management DevelopmentTools, OperatingSystems &Application Testing Software Messaging, Conferencing&Communications Engineering,PLM&CAD/CAM Software Enterprise ApplicationIntegration Content/Document Management Enterprise Resource Planning Electronic DesignAutomation SupplyChain Management &Logistics Billing&Service Management Education&eLearning Entertainment Wireless Customer Relationship Management, Marketing &Sales Software 0.0x 0.5x
3.8x 3.5x 3.3x 3.1x 3.1x 2.9x 2.8x 2.7x 2.7x 2.6x 2.5x 2.4x 2.1x 2.0x 1.9x 1.8x 1.4x 1.3x 1.2x 1.1x 0.8x 1.0x 1.5x 2.0x 2.5x 3.0x 3.5x 4.0x
on a median EV/Revenue basis. Of the four, Education & eLearning saw the steepest drop in median EV/Revenue (- 41.0%), in large part due to plummeting stock prices of GSE Systems (64.4%) and Archipelago Learning (-54.8%). Its likely investors noted that Education & eLearning was the only product category to report a decline in its YoY median TTM revenue growth rate, which slipped to 9.4% in 4Q10 from 11.7% a year earlier. On an EV/EBITDA basis, public Business Intelligence software companies led all other software product categories in 4Q10 with an impressive 25.6x median EV/EBITDA multiple. For the second year in a row, publicly listed Entertainment software providers had the lowest median EV/EBITDA multiple, 6.3x, as a consequence of the categorys median 10.5% decline in TTM revenue growth and single digit EBITDA margins. As for which product categories in the SEG Software Index were kindest to investors, 13 of 21 posted positive median stock returns in 2010, compared to 21 of 21 product categories that achieved positive stock returns in 2009. Particularly noteworthy is the Network & Connectivity category, which posted a stellar median stock price increase of 46.4% by year end, following a 69.6% dividend at the close of 2009. Among the star performers in this product 10| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
category were Radware and F5 Networks with positive stock returns of 127.2% and 96.0%, respectively. While there was a high correlation between revenue growth rates and year end stock returns for some product categories in 2010, there were clearly exceptions. While Enterprise Application Integration companies grew median TTM revenue an impressive 16.9% YoY and were rewarded with median 26.5% stock gain by year end, Healthcare software companies achieved an equally impressive TTM revenue growth rate of 16.3%, but saw their median stock price increase only 3.1%. One explanation: investors had already baked in the TTM revenue growth of healthcare software providers. Entering 2010, Healthcare was valued at a 3.7x EV/Revenue multiple, the highest among our 21 categories, in anticipation of significant future growth. By year end, Healthcares 16.3% TTM revenue growth rate, though impressive, wasnt enough to make investors double down. On the other hand, Enterprise Application Integration companies, valued in 1Q10 at a very modest median EV/Revenue multiple of 1.4x, had room to rise to 2.4x by year end after achieving 16.9% TTM revenue growth.
www.softwareequity.com
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions A comparison of public SaaS company market valuations and TTM revenue in 4Q10 reveals that here, too, size matters with investors. Public SaaS companies with 4Q10 TTM revenue above the $172 million median were valued at median 5.2x EV/Revenue, compared to median 3.3x EV/Revenue for SaaS providers below the median (Figure 19). Still, by comparison to 2007, even the larger, more successful SaaS providers have lost some of their investor appeal. Figure 19: 4Q10 SEG SaaS TTM Revenue vs. EV/Revenue Multiple
6.0x 5.2x 5.0x
Median EV/Revenue
SEG - SaaS: Median Metrics 2008 3.4x 45.1x 70.7x 1.6 $73.9 66.8% 5.3% -2.6% 37.8% $112.2 $4.2 0.4% 2009 2010 2.7x 3.6x 31.5x 32.2x 65.7x 80.9x 1.6 1.7 $89.4 $84.4 67.3% 68.0% 7.2% 9.6% -2.0% 2.0% 22.4% 14.2% $145.9 $160.2 $9.9 $11.6 1.8% 3.8% Measure EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings Current Ratio Cash & Eq ($M) Gross Profit Margin EBITDA Margin Net Income Margin TTM Revenue Growth TTM Total Revenue ($M) TTM Total EBITDA ($M) Debt / Equity Ratio
SEG - SaaS: Median Metrics Measure EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings Current Ratio Cash & Eq ($M) Gross Profit Margin EBITDA Margin Net Income Margin TTM Revenue Growth TTM Total Revenue ($M) TTM Total EBITDA ($M) Debt / Equity Ratio 4Q09 1Q10 2Q10 3Q10 4Q10 3.2x 3.4x 3.6x 3.1x 4.2x 38.8x 33.1x 32.3x 30.8x 36.2x 95.2x 74.7x 81.6x 70.4x 93.2x 1.4 1.9 1.5 1.9 1.8 $76.5 $76.0 $79.1 $84.1 $90.4 67.2% 66.7% 66.9% 67.0% 67.4% 7.2% 9.5% 9.5% 9.3% 9.7% -2.1% -0.6% 2.0% 1.4% 2.6% 15.5% 12.5% 12.1% 13.0% 16.8% $143.4 $140.9 $149.6 $160.0 $172.4 $9.9 $11.8 $11.5 $11.9 $14.3 2.1% 1.6% 9.1% 3.3% 4.5%
Perhaps the most telling illustration that the bloom is off the rose, at least for current SaaS company investors, is how much the SaaS On Premise market valuation differential has shrunk during the Great Recession. At the close of 2007, when public SaaS companies commanded a most impressive median EV/Revenue multiple of 6.4x, their perpetual license/on-premise counterparts had a median EV/Revenue multiple of 2.7x. Thats a 137% SaaS valuation premium. The median SaaS EV/Revenue multiple for all 2010 dropped to 3.6x, compared with 2.3x for onpremise software companies, narrowing the valuation differential to 57% (Figure 20). As 2010 progressed, however, the SaaS market valuation trend line improved. The median EV/Revenue multiple of public SaaS companies jumped to 4.2x in 4Q10, outpacing the 2.6x median EV/Revenue multiple of their perpetual license/on-premise counterparts at year end a 62% SaaS company valuation premium.
Although 2007s median EV/Revenue multiple is well above current SaaS company levels, there were six overachievers that closed 2010 with a multiple greater than 6.4x, and each had 4Q10 TTM revenue above the industry median of $172 million. Recent public market entrant RealPage traded at a remarkable median EV/Revenue multiple of 10.0x in 4Q10 (Figure 22). 11| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
www.softwareequity.com
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions growth had nose dived to 15.5%, median EBITDA margins had improved only modestly to 7.2%, and the median EV/Revenue multiple had fallen to 3.2x. Investors, however, still focused on top line SaaS growth rather than profitability, so SaaS companies with TTM revenue growth rates higher than the median were rewarded with a median EV/Revenue multiple of 4.3x. By comparison, SaaS companies with EBITDA margins higher than the median had only a median EV/Revenue multiple of 3.1x. That changed in 2010 at least for a while.
Figure 20: SEG Software and SEG SaaS Historical EV/Revenue Multiples
2007
2008
2009
2010
That reversal led us to wonder: Before, during and following the Great Recession, how have public SaaS valuations varied as function of revenue growth rate increases and declines, and EBITDA margin increases and declines (Figure 21)? In 2007, public SaaS providers grew median TTM revenue 42.5% higher than the prior year, dramatically increased median EBITDA margins to 6.1%, and were rewarded with a median 7.5x EV/Revenue multiple by the close of 4Q07. Then came the economic downturn. By the close of 2009, public SaaS provider median TTM revenue
50.0%
MedianEV/Revenue 5.5x 4.8x 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% 2.7x 4.7x 45.0%
TTMRevenue Growth
TTMEBITDA Margin 6.0x 5.0x 4.2x 3.2x 3.4x 3.6x 3.1x 3.0x 2.0x 1.0x 0.0x 4.0x
2.5x 1.9x
2.7x
Q1 2008
Q2 2008
Q3 2008
Q4 2008
Q1 2009
Q2 2009
Q3 2009
Q4 2009
Q1 2010
Q2 2010
Q3 2010
www.softwareequity.com
Q4 2010
MedianEV/Revenue
TTM Revenue Growth 3Q10 36.0x 33.4x 65.9x 17.2x 19.7x 14.2x 15.2x 4Q10 43.5x 36.2x 57.6x 15.2x 24.8x 26.1x 20.6x 14.8x 71.4x 41.9x 83.2x 27.0x 24.0x 33.7x 69.8x 4Q09 36.3% 14.9% 52.0% 32.3% -8.7% 7.8% 16.9% -20.7% 14.6% 15.5% 34.7% 9.0% 23.6% 48.1% -8.3% 46.7% 26.0% 13.3% 13.5% 15.5% 1Q10 38.3% 14.2% 47.9% 10.7% -7.0% 5.4% -1.9% -22.6% 17.2% 32.8% 9.2% 25.2% 8.7% 21.3% 21.5% -7.0% 36.8% 17.8% 10.1% 9.1% 12.5% 2Q10 36.9% 14.8% 44.4% -3.2% 1.4% -18.4% 19.9% 22.0% 5.6% 10.6% 21.5% -3.3% 30.7% 13.7% 10.6% 8.0% 12.1% 3Q10 34.1% 16.6% 41.5% 0.9% 0.6% -7.6% 24.3% 19.0% 7.5% 14.6% 22.6% 0.8% 29.8% 10.8% 11.3% 8.6% 13.0% 4Q10 33.9% 18.3% 38.2% 3.5% 1.2% 6.5% 27.2% 16.8% 11.6% 19.4% 25.2% -0.7% 19.0% 30.7% 12.6% 13.5% 11.6% 16.8% 4Q09 8.7% 25.0% 4.9% 2.2% 12.1% -5.3% 9.0% 10.3% 17.8% 12.6% -7.5% 8.7% 6.7% 11.8% 7.1% 0.4% 7.2% -10.4% 11.3% 5.6% 6.1% 7.2%
EBITDA Margin 1Q10 12.9% 25.1% 4.7% 6.3% 10.9% -5.8% 12.3% 9.5% 20.7% 13.8% -6.6% 14.5% 7.8% 12.1% 18.8% -3.4% 8.8% -5.3% 13.1% 5.0% 4.7% 9.5% 2Q10 11.7% 24.3% 5.1% 9.2% 10.1% -9.1% 7.9% 9.5% 20.5% 13.9% -7.6% 14.0% 7.4% 11.8% 19.7% -3.9% 11.0% -4.1% 13.4% 5.4% 3.5% 9.5% 3Q10 11.2% 23.2% 4.7% 9.1% 10.3% -8.8% 5.8% 9.3% 20.3% 15.5% -7.8% 13.8% 8.6% 11.5% 21.5% -3.2% 10.7% -2.5% 12.9% 5.7% 2.0% 9.3% 4Q10 12.9% 22.2% 5.9% 9.7% 10.3% -8.8% 5.8% 8.2% 20.3% 16.8% -6.7% 14.0% 9.5% 11.5% 21.3% -4.9% 11.4% -4.0% 12.7% 6.8% 2.4% 9.7%
119.6x 117.6x
Taleo (TLEO) Workforce Mgmt The Ultimate Software Group Workforce Mgmt (ULTI) Vocus (VOCS) CRM
Median EV/Revenue
By year end the TTM revenue growth trend line for public SaaS companies gave cause for guarded optimism. After bottoming out at 12.1% in the second quarter, the SaaS median TTM revenue growth rate ticked up to 13.0% in 3Q10, ending eleven consecutive quarters of SaaS growth rate decline. By the close of the fourth quarter, the SaaS median growth rate had risen to 16.8%, providing long awaited encouragement to many public SaaS company investors and executives (Figure 18). Still, only three public SaaS companies (Athenahealth, Constant Contact and SuccessFactors) achieved greater than 30% TTM revenue growth in 4Q10, and only eight increased their TTM revenue growth YoY (Figure 22). Its a long way from the heady days of 2008 when public SaaS companies had a median TTM revenue growth rate of almost 39%, but its progress. The decline in SaaS revenue growth rates over the past couple of years placed growing pressure on SaaS providers to improve profitability. For most of 2010, as SaaS revenue growth rates fell to about 14%, SaaS investor focus began to encompass SaaS operating profits as well. In 4Q10, SaaS companies with TTM revenue growth rates higher than the median were rewarded with a median 4.9x EV/Revenue multiple; SaaS companies with TTM EBITDA margins higher than the group median were also rewarded with a median 4.9x EV/Revenue multiple (Figure 23).
Thats the first time SaaS revenue growth rates and profitability were in parity. Figure 23: 4Q10 Public SaaS Company Revenue Growth Rate and EBITDA Margin vs. EV/Revenue Multiple
6.0x 5.0x 4.0x 3.0x 2.0x 1.0x 0.0x TTMRevenue Growth TTMEBITDA Margin 4.9x Above SaaSMedian BelowSaaS Median 4.1x 3.7x 4.9x
It may not last long. In 4Q10, EBITDA margins were essentially the same as in the first quarter, but median TTM revenue growth moved up to almost 17% from about 13% the prior quarter. Investors took note, and the median EV/Revenue multiple of our SEG SaaS Index in 4Q10 shot up to 4.2x from 3.1x in the third quarter. We believe thats a portent of whats to come in 2011 and beyond. As SMBs recover, SaaS providers will gain the lions share of SMB IT spending, and SaaS revenue growth rates will ramp. Increased enterprise adoption of SaaS deployed applications will also help propel public SaaS www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. company revenue growth rates, but weve long believed the enterprise SaaS adoption gradient will be longer and less steep than Gartner, Goldman Sachs and others have predicted. It wont matter. As public SaaS company TTM revenue growth rates grow, look for SaaS EV/Revenue market valuations to grow well beyond their 4Q10 median of 4.2x.
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions Software Index and the SEG SaaS Index. The trend continued in 2010. The median 2010 and 4Q10 EV/TTM Revenue multiples for the 56 public companies comprising our SEG Internet Index were 1.6x and 1.9x, respectively. While the median EV/Revenue multiple of public software companies jumped from 1.6x in 2009 to 2.3x in 2010, the median Internet EV/Revenue multiple showed little progress, edging up to 1.6x in 2010 from 1.3x a year earlier (Figures 24 and 25). Figure 24 and 25: SEG Internet Index Key Statistics Annually and Quarterly
SEG - Internet: Median Metrics Measure 2008 2009 EV/Revenue 1.5x 1.3x EV/EBITDA 11.9x 9.9x EV/Earnings 20.4x 15.4x Current Ratio 2.3 2.5 Cash & Eq ($M) $68.0 $69.9 Gross Profit Margin 61.2% 62.2% EBITDA Margin 13.3% 11.7% Net Income Margin 3.9% 2.5% TTM Revenue Growth 15.7% 2.6% TTM Total Revenue ($M) $148.6 $151.2 TTM Total EBITDA ($M) $16.9 $15.3 Debt / Equity Ratio 12.0% 6.2% 2010 1.6x 11.8x 20.5x 2.8 $76.4 60.9% 12.2% 3.5% 3.4% $157.6 $19.2 9.0%
Measure EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings Current Ratio Cash & Eq ($M) Gross Profit Margin EBITDA Margin Net Income Margin TTM Revenue Growth TTM Total Revenue ($M) TTM Total EBITDA ($M) Debt / Equity Ratio
SEG - Internet: Median Metrics 4Q09 1Q10 2Q10 1.4x 1.5x 1.6x 12.4x 14.1x 11.8x 19.5x 24.5x 20.8x 2.6 2.7 2.9 $79.5 $88.1 $85.0 62.1% 62.8% 60.6% 12.4% 12.6% 13.2% 3.0% 3.4% 3.4% -0.1% 0.8% 1.5% $154.0 $155.7 $151.7 $14.1 $15.5 $17.5 12.7% 10.7% 15.2%
3Q10 1.5x 12.6x 22.2x 2.8 $77.4 61.0% 13.5% 2.4% 6.4% $156.2 $19.6 8.5%
4Q10 1.9x 15.9x 29.0x 2.6 $70.7 62.2% 10.7% 3.2% 8.0% $157.8 $22.1 12.5%
On an EV/EBITDA basis, the median Internet multiple averaged 12.8x for the first three quarters of 2010, but jumped to a median 15.9 x in 4Q10, most likely in response to much heightened Internet shopping activity during the holidays. By contrast, public software companies saw their 4th quarter EV/EBITDA multiples grow more modestly, edging up to 13.6x in 4Q10 from 11.6x the prior quarter. Given the headline grabbing growth and success of Baidu, OpenTable and Facebook, many industry observers find it surprising the median 2010 EV/Revenue multiple of the SEG Internet www.softwareequity.com
The median EV/Revenue multiple of public Internet companies has historically lagged behind the median EV/Revenue multiple of both the SEG 14| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Index was significantly lower than the median EV/Revenue multiple of public software companies (2.3x) and public SaaS companies (3.6x). Internet providers seem to be divided into two groups: The smaller group has learned how to grow rapidly and monetize their traffic, and has been rewarded by investors accordingly; the larger group has yet to demonstrate that ability, which translates into depressed stock prices. Nearly 18% of Internet companies trade at only 1/3 the median EV/Revenue of the Internet category, compared to 11% of public software companies. Yet the Internet does have its share of high fliers, with 12% of Internet companies valued 3x higher than the median Internet EV/Revenue market valuation (Figure 26). Figure 26: 2010 SEG Software, SaaS and Internet Median EV/Revenue Multiple Distributions
20.0% 18.0% 16.0%
% Companies
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions for all of 2010 compared favorably to the 9.6% median EBITDA margin of public SaaS providers, but lagged well behind the 17.4% median EBITDA margin of the SEG Software Index. Figure 27: SEG Software, SaaS and Internet Historical Gross Margins
70.0% 68.0%
66.0% 64.0% 62.0% 60.0% 58.0% 56.0% 2008 SEGInternetIndex 2009 SEGSoftware Index 2010 SEGSaaS Index
14.0% 12.0% 10.0% 8.0% 6.0% 4.0% 2.0% 0.0% TradingLower Than 0.3x MedianEV/Revenue TradingHigher Than 3x MedianEV/Revenue SaaS Software Internet
The median current ratio of public Internet companies, measured as current assets divided by current liabilities, an indication of a companys liquidity, was 2.8 in 2010, up from 2.5 in 2009, suggesting many Internet providers controlled spending and eschewed, or couldnt get, additional debt financing. Indeed, the median cash and equivalents of these Internet providers increased by $6.5 million, or 9.3%, in 2010, reaching their highest level in three years (Figure 24). Market valuations of companies comprising the SEG Internet Index varied widely by Internet category in 2010 (Figure 28). Internet Search Engine companies led all other categories throughout 2010 on an EV/Revenue multiple basis, despite losing some ground from 4Q09 to 4Q10. Although Internet Networking and Connectivity companies posted a lackluster 1.2x median EV/Revenue multiple at the close 4Q10, lagging all other Internet product categories, it was a far sight better than the dismal 0.8x and 0.7x median EV/Revenue multiples for this Internet subcategory from 4Q09 2Q10 and 3Q10, respectively. Given the successful Christmas shopping season, it was not surprising to see the median EV/Revenue multiple of eCommerce and Portal players advance from 1.8x in 3Q10, to 2.3x by close of the fourth quarter.
Internet providers were especially hard hit by the economic downturn, with median TTM revenue growth nose diving from 15.7% in 2008 to 2.6% in 2009. The annualized TTM growth rate for Internet providers in 2010 was a slightly improved 3.4%, but the quarterly trend in 2010 was encouraging. 1Q10s median TTM growth rate of 0.8% grew steadily throughout the year, and surged by year end to 8.0% (Figure 25). In 2010, the gross profit margin of Internet providers was 60.9% compared to 68.6% and 68.0% for public software and public SaaS companies respectively. The 2010 data is consistent with historical trends (Figure 27) and is a reflection of the mashup nature of Internet business models resulting in significant revenue sharing across service providers. The 12.2% median EBITDA margin of the SEG Internet Index
www.softwareequity.com
Category 4Q09 0.9x 1.5x 0.8x 2.0x 3.0x 1Q10 1.2x 1.6x 0.8x 1.8x 3.0x
Advertising eCommerce & Portals Networking & Connectivity New Media Search Engine
Eleven of the 18 new software and Internet listings were North American companies; the balance were Asia/Pacific based. Six of the seven Asia/Pacific listings occurred in 4Q10. The thirteen new software entrants touted median TTM revenue of $74.7 million, revenue growth rate of 21.5% and median TTM EBITDA margin of 14.5%, well below the 27.1% TTM EBITDA margin of 2009s software IPO class (Figure 29). Six of the thirteen software IPOs in 2010 were SaaS businesses. Most notable was RealPage, a leading provider of SaaS based multifamily property management software, which closed its first day of trading with a noteworthy EV/Revenue multiple of 6.0x and ended the year with a whopping EV/Revenue multiple of 12.1x. IntraLinks, an on-demand workspace solution that facilitates the exchange of critical information, collaboration and workflow management inside and outside the enterprise, showed early momentum with its enterprise value to revenue multiple rising from 7.5x to 9.6x in the first three months of trading, but plummeted 36% following its earnings call on November 4th. Convio, a provider of software for nonprofits, watched its enterprise value to revenue multiple sink 50% between June 2010 and year end, after poor earnings calls. Most of those who invested in 2010s newly issued software and Internet companies fared well. The median new issue was up 24.5% by close of trading at year end, a significant improvement over 2009s 3.5% median return. BroadSoft, Motricity, Qlik Technologies, RealPage and Youku led the pack, each with a year-end return exceeding 100%. The markets favorable reception for newly listed software and Internet companies in 2010 encouraged others to file or resurrect their registration statements seeking to go public. As a www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Figure 29: 2010 U.S. Software and Internet IPOs
Company Category IPO Date Offering Amount Enterprise Value*
EV / Rev*
EV / EBITDA*
Revenue
Revenue Growth
EBITDA Margin
YTD Return
Software Category SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSNC) SPS Commerce, Inc.
(NASDAQ: SPSC)
Financial Services Software Supply Chain Management Customer Relationship Management Mobile Resource management Messaging, Conferencing, & Communications Wireless Engineering, PLM & CAD/CAM Software Business Intelligence Workflow Management Multimedia, Graphics, Digital Media Property Management Software Supply Chain Management Wireless
3/31/10 4/22/10 4/29/10 5/13/10 6/16/10 6/18/10 7/1/10 7/16/10 8/6/10 8/11/10 8/12/10 9/24/10 12/10/10
$160,880,000 $49,160,000 $46,200,000 $56,000,000 $67,500,000 $58,700,000 $107,810,000 $112,000,000 $143,000,000 $75,000,000 $148,500,000 $57,000,000 $58,000,000 $67,500,000
$1,431,221,000 $177,634,000 $125,347,000 $352,261,000 $163,394,000 $788,884,000 $577,980,000 $951,971,000 $1,095,040,000 $164,429,000 $964,280,000 $264,721,000 $160,295,000 $352,261,000
5.3x 4.7x 2.0x 2.3x 2.8x 6.6x 9.3x 5.5x 7.5x 2.2x 6.0x 6.7x 5.3x 5.30x
13.9x 53.4x 31.5x 5.2x n/a 59.1x 30.1x 41.9x 95.4x 10.5x 44.6x 31.2x 28.7x 31.35x
$270,041,698 $37,794,468 $62,673,500 $153,156,957 $58,355,000 $119,527,879 $62,148,387 $173,085,636 $146,005,333 $74,740,455 $160,713,333 $39,510,597 $30,323,000 $74,740,455
(3.2%) 23.0% 10.7% 54.4% 11.4% 10.2% 25.5% 33.1% (1.9%) 2.0% 25.2% 21.5% 1014.5% 21.5%
38.0% 8.8% 6.3% 42.9% (3.7%) 7.3% 35.0% 9.1% 12.3% 20.6% 14.5% 18.8% 18.4% 14.5%
1.4% 13.3% 13.8% 22.5% (7.8%) (7.4%) 8.0% 28.0% 0.0% (4.3%) 32.0% 29.2% (25.0%) 8.0%
36.0% 16.2% (19.0%) (25.7%) 187.7% 100.5% 18.7% 102.1% 43.9% 24.5% 113.0% 6.0% (33.2%) 24.5%
Convio, Inc.
(NASDAQ: CNVO)
TeleNav, Inc.
(NASDAQ:TNAV)
BroadSoft, Inc.
(NASDAQ: BSFT)
Motricity, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MOTR)
RealPage, Inc.
(NASDAQ:RP)
SciQuest, Inc.
(NASDAQ:SQI)
Sky-mobi Limited
(NASDAQ: MOBI)
Software Median:
Internet Category ChinaCache International Holdings (NASDAQ: CCIH) Mecox Lane Limited
(NASDAQ: MCOX)
Internet Infastructure Online Retail Online Retail Online Media Online Retail
Youku Inc.
(NYSE: YOKU)
*As of offering date. *First day return compares listed offering price to first day close. *Bold denotes SaaS companies.
result, the U.S. software and Internet IPO pipeline expanded to ten by the close of 2010, from three a year earlier 2009 (Figure 30). The markets response to those now lining up at the starting gate will tell us much about investors current risk/reward mindset. Among the 2011 IPO prospects are Skype, which is perhaps the most impressive in terms of size, revenue growth and EBITDA margin, and Cornerstone OnDemand, a SaaS based provider of learning and talent management solutions that seeks to raise a large amount despite a small revenue base and a history of negative EBITDA. Other software companies in the pipeline include Tangoe, Ellie Mae, Tripwire and Trunkbow International. The strong year end returns of the software and Internet class of 2010, the much improved IPO pipeline by year end and rumors of high profile IPOs by LinkedIn and Groupon suggest 2011 will see an even greater number of software/Internet company new listings. A number of private equity 17| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
firms have also indicated intent to take public portfolio software companies they took private three to five years ago. In such case, 2011 could well see 25 or more software and Internet IPOs, and a host of new S1 filings.
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Figure 30: U.S. Software and Internet IPO Pipeline
Company Category Filing Date
Offering Amount
Digital Domain (NASDAQ: DTWO) Tangoe, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNGO) Ellie Mae, Inc. (NYSE: ELLI) Tripwire, Inc. (NASDAQ: TPWR)
Content/Document Management Multimedia, Graphics, Digital Media Asset Lifecycle Management Document and Business Process Management Security Education & eLearning Wireless
Internet Category Skype S. r.l. (TBD) Tudou Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: TUDO) Kayak Software Corporation (TBD) Messaging, Conferencing, & Communications Online Media Online Retail 8/9/10 11/9/10 11/17/10 $100,000,000 $120,000,000 $50,000,000 $100,000,000 $86,250,000 n/a $269,952,000 $154,400,000 $212,176,000 $73,200,000 $718,900,000 $113,229,000 $112,698,000 $113,229,000 $61,458,500 30.4% 265.9% 0.6% 30.4% 24.5% 25.7% n/a 14.4% 20.0% 14.9%
Internet Category Median: Total Median: *Bold denotes SaaS companies. '1' Denotes Revenue, Growth and Margin numbers are 2006 annual figures Companies with negative EBITDA have n/a for EBITDA Margin
Exits of VC-backed companies, a catalyst for future VC investment activity, saw dramatic improvement in 2010 from a year earlier. According to the NVCA, a record 420 venturebacked companies sold in 2010, the largest number of exits since the NVCA began keeping records in 1985. The IPO market was also a bright spot for VCs and their limited partners, with 72 venture backed IPOs in 2010, the most since 2007, when 86 companies went public Across all industry sectors, the number of seed stage investments increased 4.0% over the prior year. Despite the increased deal activity, the total dollars allocated to seed stage companies shrunk by 1.6%. Early stage investments increased 25.4% from 2009, while expansion stage investments, perceived by VCs to be far safer than seed and early stage bets, grew a whopping 47.1%. Later stage company financings, however, declined 9.0% YoY in 2010, following a 32.0% decline in 2009, although total dollars invested inched up 2.5%. Nevertheless, VCs continued to prefer relative safety over high risk/reward. Expansion and later stage www.softwareequity.com
Figure 31: U.S. Venture Capital Investments and Total Dollars Invested Across all Industries
4,500 4,000 TotalVC Investment Dollars Number ofVCInvestments $35.0
NumberofVCInvestments
3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 $26.0 $20.7 $18.8 $21.7 $22.5 $18.3 $29.9 $28.1 $21.8 $25.0 $20.0 $15.0 $10.0 $5.0 $0.0
companies once again garnered the lions share of VC dollars invested, receiving 67.9% of the kitty in 2010, up slightly from 2009 (Figures 32 and 33). Software led all other industry sectors in number of VC financings (25.5% of total) and aggregate dollars invested (18.2% of total) (Figure 34 and 35). In 2010, 835 software companies received VC financing, up 20.7% from 2009, and the $4.0 billion raised was a 20.2% improvement over the prior year. Software companies receiving firsttime financing increased a whopping 44.2% to 261 from 181 last year. Across the 261 investments, VCs invested a total of $799.3 million, translating to an average investment size of $3.1 million. Across all stages of financing, the average software industry investment in 2010 was a modest $4.8 million, lower than any other industry, suggesting the software sector remains one of the most capital efficient. That may be, but VCs remain cautious and reluctant to invest. Compared to 2002, the total number of software companies financed and the aggregate VC dollars invested are down 15.1% and 21.3%, respectively. Internet companies fared almost as well as their software cousins in 2010, attracting 729 VC equity investments aggregating $3.8 billion. Other notable categories receiving VC love and dollars were Biotechnology and Medical Devices. 19| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
Figures 32 and 33: Aggregate VC Investments and Total Dollars Invested by Company Stage
AggregateVCDollarsbyCompanyStage($billions)
$6.3
$1.7 $5.3
$8.5
Seed
Early
Expansion
Later
AggregateVCInvestmentsbyCompanyStage
746
363 1,147
1,021
Seed
Early
Expansion
Later
www.softwareequity.com
TotalVCDollars Invested($billions)
$30.0
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Figures 34 and 35: Aggregate VC Investments and Total Dollars Invested by Product Category
Software Internet Biotechnology MedicalDevicesandEquipment Mediaand Entertainment Industrial/Energy ITServices Telecommunications Semiconductors Consumer Productsand Services BusinessProductsandServices FinancialServices ComputersandPeripherals Electronics/Instrumentation Networkingand Equipment Healthcare Services Retailing/Distribution Other 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 TotalVCInvestments
Software Internet Biotechnology Industrial/Energy MedicalDevicesandEquipment ITServices Mediaand Entertainment Semiconductors Telecommunications Networkingand Equipment Consumer Productsand Services FinancialServices ComputersandPeripherals BusinessProductsandServices Electronics/Instrumentation Healthcare Services Retailing/Distribution Other $0 $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 TotalVCInvestment Dollars ($millions)
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
THE BUYERS SPEAK: SOFTWARE EQUITY GROUPS 2011 M&A SURVEY (CONTINUED)
overwhelming 63% of 2011s Survey respondents deem the targets products and technology platform the most important factors in deciding whether, and for how much, to extend an offer. The targets profitability and growth, to the dismay of many private software company founders, is relatively unimportant to the overwhelming majority of our 2011 Survey respondents. A notably greater number of buyers this year ranked the caliber of the targets management team and operations to be the most important factor in deciding whether, and for how much, to extend an offer. Its almost certainly because buyers today deem continuity, orderly transition and phased management withdrawal essential to the success of the transaction post-closing. As our founder, Ken Bender, wrote in the editorial column of our 3Q10 Quarterly Report, the buyer mindset today has changed since the Great Recession. Our 2011 survey results back him up. M&A decision making has shifted from top down to consensus according to 60% of buyers responding to our survey; 72% say theyre doing much more analysis today of the market opportunity, go forward strategy and target synergies; and 84% of respondents indicated they conduct much more pre-LOI due diligence on a targets financials, products and operations. Despite this unprecedented degree of due diligence by buyers, weve observed a higher mortality rate in the past two years of software M&A transactions under LOIs that never closed, and decided to ask why. Our 2011 Survey makes clear the exit valuation gulf between buyers and sellers is wide, and often gets wider during due diligence. A whopping 41% of our respondents told us that unrealistic valuation expectations were the single greatest reason why a deal under LOI failed to consummate. This response should be read in conjunction with responses to another of our questions regarding those post-LOI events that most imperiled the closing of a transaction. According to the buyers we surveyed, the closing of a deal under LOI is most imperiled by the renegotiation of the proposed purchase price due to matters uncovered or clarified during due diligence. These can cover the gamut of missed revenue or EBITDA forecasts, uncollected sales taxes, missed product release dates, open source languages embedded without appropriate license, deceased third party developers who didnt sign work made for hire agreements, customer attrition beyond what was indicated during pre-LOI discussions its a long list, and buyers today do not react kindly. Often they see the value of the company as being less than originally bid, and reduce their offer. The targets, in turn, are often outraged for being nickel and dimed, especially when theyre so strategic to the buyer. More often than not, thats the reason behind the unrealistic exit valuation response given by so many of the buyers we surveyed when asked, Whats the most common reason an acquisition fails to consummate once you enter due diligence? Its clear from the results of our 2011 Survey that buyers in 2011 will be more acquisitive; will pay modestly more; will be product and technology focused; will be process and consensus driven; and will closely scrutinize the target prior to closing to reduce risk and enhance the likelihood of realizing the expected return. Thus far, as we go to press, that certainly appears to be the case. Well detail that more in our 1Q11 Quarterly Report.
www.softwareequity.com
If you had to guess now, how many software companies do you anticipate acquiring in 2011?
0 1-2 3-5 6-10 More than 10
Response %
7% 41% 31% 17% 3%
Response %
46% 36% 7% 7% 4%
What's your current view of valuations? How much would you expect to pay in 2011 for a company very similar to the one you acquired in 2010?
The same Less 10% to 20% more 21% to 30% more 31% to 40% more Greater than 40% more
Response %
40% 0% 57% 3% 0% 0%
How important is it for you in 2011 that the target be all or substantially SaaS/subscription based?
Unimportant Somewhat Very Absolutely essential
Response %
17% 53% 30% 0%
Please rank the following four acquisition objectives for 2011 in order of importance (1=most important, 4=least important):
Financial: Inorganic growth and/or earnings accretion Product Enhancement: Plug holes, add functionality, competitively differentiate, improve user experience Broaden Current Offering/Grab More IT Spend: Add new product categories, enter new markets, expand territories Increase Market Share: Consolidation, channel acquisition, attack competition
1
17% 40% 30% 13%
Ranking 2 3
13% 27% 40% 20% 47% 17% 13% 23%
4
23% 17% 17% 43%
Please rank the most common reasons an acquistion fails to consummate once you enter the due diligence phase (1 = most common, 5 = least common)?
Unrealistic seller valuation expectations Product and technology performance/functionality does not meet expectations Culture and personality differences Accounting, tax and legal issues that are unable to be resolved in a mutually satisfactory manner Internal matters unrelated to the deal (strategic change, management change, board intervention, investor intervention, etc.)
1
41% 28% 7% 14% 10%
2
24% 28% 21% 10% 17%
Ranking 3 4
17% 17% 48% 7% 10% 3% 28% 10% 31% 28%
5
14% 0% 14% 38% 34%
When selecting and valuing acquistiion targets, please rank the following four M&A drivers in order of importance (1 = most important, 4 = least important):
Products and technology: The target's products/technology are well executed, a great fit with us, and provide the strategic leverage we seek Growth: The target is growing at a rate far greater than average, demonstrating strong market demand, and we think it's time to invest Profitability: The target is highly profitable, the deal will be accretive, the financial risk is lower Management and Operations: The target has deep domain expertise we need to acquire, a great team, proven performers
Ranking 2 3
10% 33% 13% 43% 20% 47% 27% 7%
4
7% 13% 50% 30%
In comparison to two or three years ago, how has your M&A internal decision making process changed (Choose any/all that are applicable):
Much more consensus driven today; all/most senior management must buy in Much more pre-LOI due diligence re: target's financials, products, operations Much more analysis of market opportunity, strategy and synergies Much more early involvement by our auditors and outside accountants Much more involvement of our Board members and/or investors
Response %
60% 84% 72% 12% 32%
In your recent experience, which post-LOI contract issues have most imperiled the closing of your transactions (rank 1 - 5 in order of frequency of occurrence):
Tax and accounting issues Indemnity caps Indemnity escrows - amount, period, basket, etc. Renegotiation of purchase price due to due diligence discoveries or events Change of buyer priorities, finances, strategy
1
21% 8% 13% 42% 17%
2
17% 29% 25% 21% 8%
Ranking 3 4
13% 25% 33% 17% 13% 17% 25% 29% 17% 13%
5
33% 13% 0% 4% 50%
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Figure 36: U.S. Mergers and Acquisition Activity
16,000
$1,800
$1,500
11,254 10,130
12,000
Number of Deals
11,769
$1,200
Value ($ billions)
8,000
$1,094B
$900
$877B $747B
$600
4,000 $300
$0 2007
Value
2008
2009
2010
Source: Capital IQ
and closed out the year at $240.7 billion in the final quarter. We anticipate M&A deal volume will moderately increase across virtually all U.S. industries in 2011. Product line enhancements and extensions, industry consolidation driven by the quest for greater market share, vertical integration to achieve financial and distribution efficiencies, geographical expansion particularly in China and elsewhere in Asia Pacific, will all drive deal volume in 2011. We expect domestic M&A spending to increase, as well, but modestly. 2011 will undoubtedly see a greater number of megadeals at eyebrow raising valuations, but we believe most buyers will need more convincing about the sustainability of the economic recovery and their own improved financial performance before loosening the purse strings much more. There were 943 U.S. leveraged buy-outs and private equity backed transactions in 2010, a 14% increase over 2009s total of 814. According to Capital IQ, aggregate U.S. LBO spending also increased, from $60.1 billion in 2009 to $75.4 billion in 2010. There were 20 leveraged buy-outs greater than $1 billion in 2010, almost three times the number of LBOs in 2009. The improvement in LBO transaction volume and spending was in
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. large part attributable to an improved credit market, as lenders returned to the table. LBO target valuations showed modest improvement in 2010. Targets with EBITDAs greater than $50 million had a median 15.6% EBITDA margin and fetched a median exit multiple of 8.0x TTM EBITDA, or 1.4x revenue multiple, up from 2009s median 6.0x TTM EBITDA. LBO/PE targets with less than $50 million in EBITDA had a median 9.4% EBITDA margin and were acquired for a median 11.6x TTM EBITDA , or 1.1x revenue multiple, up from 2009s median 7.6x TTM EBITDA. Software M&A Deal Volume and Spending Software M&A transactions accounted for 11.7% of all U.S. M&A activity in 2010, down from 13.3% in 2009. There were 1,586 mergers and acquisitions worth $51.9 billion in the U.S. Software sector in 2010, compared to 1,329 transactions aggregating $27.4 billion in 2009 (Figures 37 and 38). 1Q10 began on a positive note with 431 transactions, the fourth consecutive quarter of increased software M&A deal volume. Unfortunately, that level of activity was not reached again in 2010, as software M&A deal volume declined 12% to 385 transactions in the second quarter, rebounded a bit in Q3, then fell off again in the final quarter (Figure 39). Yearover-year, each quarter in 2010 posted an increase over 2009, assuming 4Q10s 368 software transactions (vs. 372 in 4Q09) will increase by 10-15 deals in our final tally. Overall, 2010s software deal total was healthy in comparison to transaction volumes over the past decade. Note to our readers: The deal and dollar volumes in Figures 37 and 38 have been updated from our previously published quarterly reports due to transactions newly reported or deleted (i.e., scrapped deals) after our publication dates. Based upon our 2011 buyer survey results and our conversations with a broad array of public software company corporate development heads and private equity firm managing directors, we anticipate a modest increase in software M&A transaction volume in 2011. Asked how many software companies they anticipate acquiring in 25| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions 2011, 20% said six or more; 31% said three to five, and 41% stated they plan to buy one to two this year (please see Survey results). Overall, responses to our 2011 Survey indicate software M&A deal volume will rise approximately 12% to 1,775 this year, driven primarily by buyers seeking product enhancements, extensions and competitive differentiation. Figures 37 and 38: Annual U.S. Software Sector M&A Activity and Dollars Spent
2500 2000
# of Deals
2007
2008
2009
2010
$100.0 $80.0
$81.9
($ billions)
$54.5 $27.4
$51.9
2008
2009
2010
2010s total software M&A spend was 90% greater than 2009s, although deal volume increased only 16%. It would be erroneous to conclude, however, that the average deal size increased dramatically in 2010 because valuations were markedly higher or many larger companies were acquired. Major fluctuations in software M&A spending each quarter are typically the consequence of a relatively small number of software industry mega-deals (transactions with enterprise values greater than $500 million). Of 2010s $51.9 billion total software M&A outlay, $26.3 billion was spent on 17 mega-deals. By comparison, 2009s $27.4 billion total software M&A outlay included $9.6 billion spent on seven mega-deals, while 2008s $56.2 billion total price tag included $32.6 billion on 21 mega-deals. www.softwareequity.com
Figures 39 & 40: Quarterly U.S. Software Sector M&A Activity and Dollars Spent
600
# of Deals
300
200
100
1Q08
2Q08
3Q08
4Q08
1Q09
2Q09
3Q09
4Q09
1Q10
2Q10
3Q10
4Q10
$19.1
$11.2
$5.0 $2.9 $0.0 4Q07 1Q08 2Q08 3Q08 4Q08 1Q09 3Q09
Software M&A Deal Currency The prevalence of cash and stock as M&A deal consideration was virtually the same in 2010 as in 2009. Cash was the predominant form of payment, and was the exclusive form of payment in approximately 73% of all software M&A transactions in 2010 (Figure 41). All stock deals represented 9% of transactions in 2010, but the prevalence of stock fluctuated throughout the year. All stock transactions 26| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
accounted for 10% of software M&A deals in 1H10, 12% in 3Q10, and only 6% of software deals in 4Q10. The diminished number of all stock transactions at year end reflected seller concern the public markets were overvalued and buyer stock had considerably less upside. Still, some stock as a component of the purchase price retained its appeal. Transactions featuring a combination of cash and stock represented 18% of transactions in both 2010 and 2009.
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Figure 41: Software M&A Deal Currency
10% 10% 12% 6%
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions buyers mean increased deal competition and more strategic valuations. In 2010, public companies comprised approximately 42% of all software M&A buyers, compared with 37% of all buyers in 2009. During the period spanning 2H09 through 1H10, public software companies accounted for 39% of buyers and the median exit multiple was healthy, but relatively flat. During 2H10, however, public buyers accounted for 45% of acquisitions, and the median exit jumped to 2.5x in 3Q10 before retreating in the final quarter to 2.1x (Figure 42).
13% 23%
14%
21%
73%
Figure 42: Public vs. Private Software M&A Buyers and Sellers
Q1 2010 Q2 2010 Q3 2010 Q4 2010
Percentage of Software Buyers
Stock
Cash
5%
9%
10%
9%
62%
60%
58%
52%
20%
16%
18%
18%
Q1 2010
75% 75% 72% 73%
Q2 2010
Private
Q3 2010
Public
Q4 2010
2007
2008
2009
2010
Stock
Cash
96%
92%
96%
98%
Private vs. Public Buyers In assessing each quarters M&A activity, we continue to track the mix of public and private buyers because it provides useful insight about the current software M&A ecosystem and the level of interest and likely valuation range a potential sell-side candidate might attract. Low M&A deal volumes and fewer public buyers usually connote lower median exit valuations. Conversely, higher deal volume and 40%+ public 27| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
4% Q1 2010
8%
4% Q3 2010
Public
2% Q4 2010
Q2 2010
Private
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Software M&A Valuations On an annualized basis, 2010s median software industry exit valuation, measured as a multiple of trailing twelve months revenue, was 2.2x, a marked increase over 2009s median exit valuation of 1.8x TTM revenue, and the highest annual median multiple weve reported since 2000 (Figure 43). Indeed, 2010s median exit valuation remained above 2.0x every quarter, after reaching 2.0x in only one quarter of 2009 (Figure 44). The reasons for 2010s improved exit multiple are several: higher quarterly revenue growth rates encouraged public software company buyers to spend more; there was greater competition for deals; and higher stock prices and market valuations enabled buyers to shop with higher valued currency. We believe there was another phenomenon at play, as well, which was largely responsible for the boost in the median exit multiple. Buyers in 2010 were far more strategic and much more focused in their acquisition planning and execution than any time in memory. Product deficiencies and opportune market opportunities were scrutinized and analyzed and prioritized on a collaborative basis. Acquisition parameters were decided upon in advance, teams were created or fortified, and a greater array of targets were identified and evaluated. Those targets deemed most ideal and synergistic were typically healthy, profitable and growing, and therefore deserving of a higher exit multiple than most at least in the targets minds. Buyers, in response offered prices they considered fair and reasonable and in many cases not a penny more. Those deals that reached the finish line were, in the minds of both buyer and seller, deserving of a higher exit valuation.
On a multiple of TTM EBITDA basis, 2010 M&A valuations were far more difficult to analyze due to insufficient data for private seller software M&A transactions. Consequently, we restricted our analysis to EBITDA exit multiples for transactions featuring public sellers. Public software company sellers received a median 12.4x TTM EBITDA multiple in 2010, up slightly from 2009s median exit multiple of 11.8x TTM EBITDA. On a quarterly basis, the median TTM EBITDA multiple remained rather flat throughout 2010, ranging only between 12.0x and 13.0x TTM EBITDA (Figure 45). Comparatively, the median TTM EBITDA valuation fluctuated quite drastically from quarter to quarter in 2009, from 8.7x to 12.5x, primarily because the public markets were still in a state of frenzy and there were a good number of fire sales. Figure 44: Quarterly Software M&A Valuation as a Multiple of Revenue
2.2x 2.1x 2.5x 2.1x
Q1 2010
Q2 2010
Q3 2010
Q4 2010
Figure 45: Median Public Software Company Seller Valuation as a Multiple of EBITDA
13.0x 12.0x 13.0x 12.4x
Q1 2010
Q2 2010
Q3 2010
Q4 2010
2.0x
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Weve repeatedly demonstrated in prior SEG Quarterly Reports that three of the most important determinants of exit valuation are the sellers ownership structure, financial performance and product category. The axiom held true, once again, in 2010. We analyzed all M&A transactions in 2010 with ascertainable revenue multiples to determine the specific impacts on valuation of ownership (private vs. public company), size (revenue) of buyer and seller, and the sellers software product category. First, we sorted 2010s M&A transactions by ownership type, separating public from private software company sellers to ascertain any difference in their median TTM revenue exit multiple. Public company sellers received a median 1.8x TTM revenue exit valuation, while privately held software companies commanded a median 2.6x TTM revenue multiple (Figure 46). Why the rather significant differential? Nine underperforming public companies were acquired in the first half of 2010, most of which were struggling mightily to grow top line revenue. These arbitrage purchases included: TEOCOs acquisition of telecom operations support software vendor TTI Team Telecom for $30.7 million (0.7x TTM revenue, -16.1% TTM revenue growth); Pegasystems acquisition of business process management and CRM provider Chordiant Software for $100.2 million (1.3x TTM revenue, 28.8% TTM revenue growth); OpenTexts purchase of digital content management provider Nstein Technologies for $27.4 million (1.2x TTM revenue, 1.6% TTM revenue growth); Battery Ventures acquisition of CAD/CAM software provider Vero Software for $13 million (0.7x TTM revenue, -8.0% TTM revenue growth); and Pharsight and Vector Capitals acquisition of Symyx Technologies for $156.1 million (1.0x TTM revenue, 4.8% TTM revenue growth). Four devalued, underperforming public software companies were acquired in 2H10: Quest Software purchased Bakbone Software for $44.4 million (0.8x TTM revenue, -2.4% TTM revenue growth); Attachmate acquired Novell for approximately $1 billion (1.25x TTM revenue, 5.8% TTM revenue growth); CSG Systems acquired Intec Telecom Systems for $251.3 million (1.0x TTM revenue, -0.8% TTM revenue 29| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions Figure 46: 2010 Median Multiples Segmentation (Enterprise Value/Revenue)
Public Sellers 1.8x Median Multiple
31% 69%
Private Buyers
1.8x Median Multiple
25% 75%
Public Buyers
2.4x Median Multiple
54%
46%
Seller Greater Than $20 million: 2.7x 0.8x Seller Less Than $20 million: 4.4x 2.0x
Seller Greater Than $20 1.8x million: 1.5x Seller Less Than $20 million: 1.5x 2.4x
growth); and Marlin Equity Partners acquired Phoenix Technologies for $98.3 million (1.6x TTM revenue, -9.0% TTM revenue growth). Please see Appendix B for additional public seller exit valuations.
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Conversely, most of the highest exit multiples in 2010 were paid to private software companies deemed by their large public suitors to be highly strategic and worthy of an acquisition premium. Many of these private targets were venturebacked entities that were well-funded, growing and, consequently, expensive. Noteworthy examples include Disneys acquisition of Playdom ($763.2 million, 10.2x TTM revenue estimate); Roper Industries acquisition of iTradeNetwork ($525.0 million, 6.6x TTM revenue estimate); Googles acquisition of ITA Software ($700.0 million, 5.6x TTM revenue estimate); Datalogic Scanning Holdings acquisition of Evolution Robotics Retail ($25.5 million, 5.0x TTM revenue); Dassault Systems acquisition of Exalead ($161.6 million, 8.4x TTM revenue); and EPIQ Systems acquisition of Jupiter eSources ($80 million, 6.1x TTM revenue). As a next step, we separated public and private software company buyers to ascertain any difference in median purchase price paid in 2010. For historical context, in 2006 and 2007 public buyers shelled out a median of 2.7x and 2.5x TTM seller revenue, respectively, for their acquisitions, while private buyers paid a median 1.9x and 2.0x TTM revenue, respectively. In 2008, we saw the historical variance narrow considerably, with private buyers paying a median M&A purchase price of 1.7x TTM revenue, compared to public software companies paying a median purchase price of 2.0x TTM revenue. During 2009, the public-private buyer differential increased drastically. Public buyers paid a median 1.9x TTM revenue, well within historic norms. Private buyers, however, paid a miserly 1.2x TTM revenue exit multiple, in many cases acquiring competitors that were struggling to survive the downturn. In 2010, both public and private buyers valued acquisition targets significantly higher than the year prior. Public buyers paid a median 2.4x TTM revenue, while private buyers paid a median 1.8x TTM revenue. Clearly, both types of buyers were feeling more encouraged by their financial results in 2010 and more bullish about their near term growth prospects. Additionally, we sliced the 2010 median software M&A multiple horizontally and vertically, 30| 2010 ANNUAL SOFTWARE INDUSTRY EQUITY REPORT
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions segregating vertical market software company sellers (e.g. retail, financial services, telecom, manufacturing, etc.) from sellers with horizontal software solutions (infrastructure, enterprise applications, etc.). In 2010, providers of vertical software accounted for 37% (Figure 47) of all software M&A transactions, while horizontal solution providers comprised 63% of sellers. Figure 47: 2010 Horizontal vs. Vertical Sellers
37% 63%
vertical
horizontal
Vertical market and horizontal software providers were both valued at relatively healthy premiums in 2010, fetching a median 2.0x TTM revenue and 2.3x TTM revenue, respectively. In comparison, 2009 saw vertical market and horizontal software providers valued at a median 1.6x TTM revenue and 1.7x TTM revenue, respectively (Figure 48). Figure 48: Horizontal vs. Vertical M&A Multiples
4Q10 3Q10 2Q10 1Q10 Median 2010 4Q09 3Q09 2Q09 1Q09 Median 2009 Horizontal 2.3x 2.7x 2.3x 2.2x 2.3x 1.7x 2.3x 1.7x 1.3x
1.7x
Vertical 1.9x 2.2x 2.0x 1.8x 2.0x 2.3x 1.5x 1.6x 1.1x
1.6x
M&A Exit Valuations by Software Category While company size, ownership structure and market focus demonstrably impact valuation, software product category continued to be the single most important M&A valuation differentiator in 2010. www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. For most software product categories, there is often an insufficient number of transactions that publicly report both seller TTM revenue and buyer purchase price, essential data in ascertaining the applicable median exit value for the product category. Consequently, we aggregate the data each quarter on a TTM basis. As a result, it may take several quarters to detect changing product category valuation trends, and certain outlier transactions consummated nine or twelve months ago may have a residual impact on their product category multiples. Among the eleven software product categories we tracked in 2010 (Figure 49), Security and CRM/Marketing/Sales software garnered the highest category exit valuations, at a median 3.7x TTM revenue and 3.1x TTM revenue, respectively. Transactions in the security sector included Hewlett Packards acquisition of ArcSight ($1.5 billion, 7.7x TTM revenue); Juniper Networks acquisition of Altor Networks ($95 million, 6.3x TTM revenue estimate); and Symantecs acquisitions of PGP ($306 million, 4.0x TTM revenue) and GuardianEdge ($73 million, 3.9x TTM revenue). In the CRM/Marketing/Sales category, acquisitions such as IBMs purchase of Unica ($448.6 million, 4.1x TTM revenue) and Teradatas purchase of Aprimo ($500 million, 6.3x TTM revenue estimate), helped to boost the median revenue multiple. Exit valuations for other software product categories ranged from a median 2.8x TTM revenue for providers of Engineering, PLM and CAD applications, to a median 1.2x TTM revenue for content/document management software providers. In terms of volatility, exit multiples in the Development Tools and IT Asset Management category fluctuated most year-overyear, dropping from a median 3.0x TTM revenue in 2009 to a median 2.1x TTM revenue in 2010. From a deal activity standpoint, Wireless software led all other product categories in 2010, followed closely by Security and Development Tools/IT Asset Management (Figure 50).
Security
3.7x
3.1x
2.8x
2.7x
Wireless
2.6x
Healthcare
2.5x
2.5x
2.1x
2.0x
1.7x
Content/Document Management
1.2x
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Figure 50: Software M&A by Product Category
Manufacturing&AssetMgmt Retail Telecommunications
Security
Content/DocumentMgmt Healthcare
CRM,Marketing&Sales
Gov't/A&D
FinancialServices
Database&FileMgmt Dev.Tools,ITAssetMgmt&App. Testing Education&ComputerBased Training ElectronicCommerce ElectronicDesignAutomation Engineering,PLM&CAD/CAM EnterpriseApplicationIntegration Entertainment EnterpriseResourcePlanning
Networking&Connectivity
SaaS M&A Transactions SaaS M&A deal activity and valuations improved considerably in 2010 from a year earlier. We counted 105 SaaS acquisitions in 2010, including ten with ascertainable revenue multiples, of which the median exit valuation was 3.2x TTM revenue. In comparison, we counted only 50 SaaS acquisitions in 2009, including six with ascertainable revenue multiples, of which the median exit valuation was 2.7x TTM revenue. The trajectory of SaaS M&A activity was encouraging, with 2010 outpacing 2009 every quarter. The year began with a modest ten SaaS deals in 1Q10 (vs. nine in 1Q09), spiked to 30 in 2Q10 (vs. eight in 2Q09), grew to 39 in 3Q10 (vs.
13 in 3Q09) and dropped to a still impressive 26 SaaS acquisitions in 4Q10 (vs. 20 in 4Q09). The workforce management product category accounted for the greatest number of SaaS company acquisitions in 2010, with category leaders such as SuccessFactors acquiring Imform Business Impact ($40.5 million, 2.7x TTM revenue estimate); Callidus acquiring ForceLogix ($3.8 million); Lawson acquiring Enwisen ($75 million, 5.0x TTM revenue estimate); Kenexa acquiring Salary.com ($74.1 million, 1.6x TTM revenue); Hewitt Associates acquiring HRAdvance Enterprises ($11 million); Stepstone acquiring MrTed; and Administaff purchasing OneMind Connect. Acquisition activity in this segment was virtually non-existent when the global economy
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. slipped into a deep recession and companies were focused on layoffs rather than hiring. This translated into deep cuts in workforce management IT spending, and subsequently, a sharp drop in category acquisitions. The supply chain product category, where M&A activity has historically involved mostly on-premise software companies, featured a number of SaaS acquisitions in 2010, including RedPrairies acquisition of SmartTurn; CDC Softwares acquisitions of TradeBeam ($18.9 million) and eBizNET Solutions; Roper Industries acquisition of iTradeNetwork ($525 million, 6.6x TTM revenue estimate); and GSI Commerces purchase of VendorNet. Meanwhile, the infrastructure segment featured Dell acquiring Boomi; CA acquiring Arcot Systems ($200 million); Citrix acquiring GoToManage and Netviewer; Webroot acquiring BrightCloud; and Tibcos purchasing Loyalty Lab ($23 million). We see better times ahead for SaaS, particularly for the growing number of public SaaS providers that have finally turned the corner on profitability. SaaS adoption at the enterprise level will grow albeit not nearly as quickly as many analysts and pundits predict, but the real updraft will come from resumed spending on SaaS by SMBs. And thats likely only if the slow but steady economic recovery continues unabated and GDP growth exceeds 4% or better each quarter. Should that occur, SaaS companies with 12% to 15% EBITDA margins and 40% TTM revenue growth rates can expect to exit for a premium in 2011, should they opt to do so.
Investment Banking / Mergers & Acquisitions Internet M&A Transactions 2010 was one of the most active years in recent history for Internet sector mergers and acquisitions, with a total of 625 transactions among all Internet product categories. The feeding frenzy was fueled in large part by investors and industry analysts who have become increasingly bullish about rapid growth in social networking, eCommerce, online display advertising, video capture and sharing and cloud computing. Figure 52: 2010 Internet M&A by Category
The year began strong in almost all Internet subcategories and remained robust throughout the year, averaging 146 M&A transactions per quarter. In 4Q10 alone, 165 Internet companies were acquired, 18 more than in the prior quarter, and 47 more than 4Q09 (Figure 51).
www.softwareequity.com
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Indeed, 65% of Q4s Internet transactions were within four key categories: content, e-commerce, social networking and ad-tech categories. Those same four categories were the most active for all of 2010, accounting for 382 transactions in total (Figure 52). Google continues to be the most acquisitive Internet company buyer, completing 13 Internet transactions in 2010. AOL, Facebook, and Groupon each completed six Internet acquisitions in 2010, while Local.com, Yahoo, Apple, Wikio and Amazon each completed four. The largest and most powerful Internet players, together with several heavily backed new faces, are moving rapidly to solidify their positions in content, commerce, and search, while also moving aggressively into social networking, mobile and video domains (Figure 53).
www.softwareequity.com
Business Intelligence Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 2.0 16.2% 82.8% 11.1% 78.9% 4.8% 26.6% 24.9% 121.2% 2.4x 12.8x 28.7x
1Q10 2.0 16.9% 82.4% 10.2% 10.2% 0.7% 21.7% 24.1% 147.8% 2.3x 13.7x 31.5x
2Q10 1.6 15.4% 81.2% 9.2% -55.9% 5.8% -7.2% 25.1% 71.8% 1.9x 13.8x 36.6x
3Q10 1.6 13.1% 80.0% 6.3% -23.8% 11.1% -24.9% 20.0% 13.9% 2.0x 20.9x 44.5x
4Q10 1.8 14.8% 78.0% 8.7% -15.3% 11.1% -24.2% 19.1% 13.9% 3.1x 25.6x 38.1x
Education & eLearning Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 1.1 12.5% 78.1% 2.6% -15.5% 20.5% 50.5% 22.2% 49.1% 2.2x 16.3x 23.8x
1Q10 1.2 13.2% 79.1% 5.3% -125.9% 18.6% 39.1% 15.7% 66.6% 2.0x 14.0x 48.8x
2Q10 1.2 14.7% 78.8% 5.7% -167.9% 17.5% 32.5% 15.3% 50.1% 1.6x 14.9x 39.8x
3Q10 1.2 16.4% 79.0% 7.4% 144.3% 9.4% 22.6% 18.3% 10.7% 1.3x 12.8x 55.1x
4Q10 1.1 13.0% 76.1% 3.6% -72.8% 9.4% 18.0% 18.3% -0.3% 1.3x 18.2x 40.9x
Content & Document Management Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 1.4 25.9% 73.6% -6.6% 7.4% -10.3% 11.0% 25.1% 44.8% 1.7x 7.4x 41.1x
1Q10 1.4 22.5% 71.5% 1.4% 56.4% -12.4% -4.2% 20.8% 43.6% 2.0x 7.2x 53.6x
2Q10 1.5 23.2% 71.0% 1.7% -47.3% -3.0% -5.9% 21.1% 31.9% 1.9x 8.2x 42.4x
3Q10 1.6 23.7% 72.3% 9.6% -21.4% 2.3% -0.8% 19.8% 15.1% 1.7x 7.5x 47.3x
4Q10 1.8 25.2% 72.5% 11.7% 107.7% 0.8% 11.7% 16.9% 13.7% 2.1x 8.1x 20.6x
Electronic Design Automation Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 1.8 -2.3% 79.3% -71.1% 81.7% -17.9% -3.0% 32.7% 37.3% 1.4x 9.4x 12.9x
1Q10 1.9 3.9% 80.2% -8.9% 92.2% -9.0% -27.0% 31.3% 54.6% 1.5x 21.3x 8.6x
2Q10 1.9 5.0% 81.9% -4.0% -42.2% -0.3% -70.0% 26.4% 55.4% 1.6x 22.8x 38.1x
3Q10 1.7 8.1% 82.3% -1.8% 42.0% 1.6% -73.0% 28.5% 31.3% 1.5x 26.4x 10.4x
4Q10 1.5 8.4% 82.6% 2.1% 99.3% 5.5% 126.5% 23.5% 32.3% 1.9x 19.2x 13.5x
Customer Relationship Management Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 1.5 -5.8% 43.1% -4.6% -4.8% -15.7% 44.3% 29.4% 43.9% 0.6x 11.8x 23.0x
1Q10 1.1 -1.8% 44.8% -4.5% 63.2% -12.0% 8.8% 28.2% 77.4% 0.8x 11.4x 23.2x
2Q10 1.1 4.0% 49.3% -6.3% 24.6% -6.6% -9.9% 28.6% 47.5% 1.0x 8.3x 23.3x
3Q10 0.9 0.3% 48.2% -11.6% 8.1% -2.7% -18.0% 24.6% -23.1% 0.8x 15.4x 22.7x
4Q10 0.9 -9.1% 44.5% -12.2% 8.1% -2.7% -18.0% 19.6% -13.4% 0.8x 11.8x 25.3x
Engineering, PLM & CAD/CAM Software Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 2.1 13.4% 80.3% 3.4% -11.9% -10.3% -3.0% 20.8% 37.3% 1.7x 12.4x 29.0x
1Q10 2.0 14.4% 81.2% 4.2% 5.6% -7.0% -10.6% 16.7% 65.8% 1.8x 14.9x 32.3x
2Q10 2.0 16.2% 82.1% 4.8% 14.3% -1.5% -13.4% 15.5% 59.9% 1.9x 14.5x 34.2x
3Q10 1.8 18.5% 82.3% 5.4% 28.0% 5.5% -3.1% 17.6% 40.2% 2.1x 16.4x 25.5x
4Q10 1.9 19.8% 82.9% 6.5% 99.3% 7.6% 57.3% 14.9% 37.8% 2.5x 16.7x 34.7x
Database & File Management Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 2.4 22.9% 83.7% 12.5% 1.3% 3.7% 11.8% 24.4% 49.6% 2.1x 8.8x 18.6x
1Q10 1.7 22.9% 84.1% 12.8% 17.6% -1.1% 8.7% 26.1% 38.6% 1.9x 9.1x 18.0x
2Q10 1.4 22.0% 84.0% 12.3% 21.3% 0.5% 20.3% 19.4% 22.3% 1.9x 9.0x 17.6x
3Q10 1.4 22.8% 83.8% 12.5% 29.7% 2.3% 4.5% 18.0% 10.7% 2.1x 9.1x 15.4x
4Q10 1.5 22.6% 83.6% 12.7% 29.7% 6.1% 4.5% 16.9% 9.3% 2.7x 10.9x 17.9x
Enterprise Application Integration Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 2.0 14.7% 60.1% -8.1% 32.2% -9.4% -0.2% 27.8% 82.2% 1.4x 10.0x 28.0x
1Q10 1.9 14.7% 58.4% -4.8% 38.7% -6.7% 6.3% 22.9% 92.6% 1.4x 9.8x 26.6x
2Q10 1.8 13.9% 57.7% -5.5% 42.2% 4.6% 21.6% 30.5% 48.6% 1.5x 11.2x 28.5x
3Q10 1.8 14.4% 57.4% -5.4% 30.6% 14.8% 27.4% 24.7% 41.1% 1.7x 13.0x 32.8x
4Q10 1.6 13.1% 57.1% -7.5% 35.8% 16.9% 31.4% 18.7% 26.1% 2.4x 21.8x 40.6x
www.softwareequity.com
APPENDIX A: 2010 PUBLIC MARKET VALUATIONS AND STATISTICS BY PRODUCT CATEGORY (CONTINUED)
Enterprise Resource Planning Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings 4Q09 1.6 17.6% 57.0% 6.7% -0.8% -8.0% 5.6% 15.3% 41.7% 2.0x 10.2x 23.6x 1Q10 1.4 19.1% 57.7% 8.7% 6.5% -7.2% 3.0% 16.7% 44.7% 2.0x 11.2x 24.0x 2Q10 1.5 19.3% 57.4% 8.7% 7.2% -4.3% 1.9% 17.2% 27.0% 2.0x 10.8x 23.8x 3Q10 1.5 17.2% 57.5% 8.2% 22.6% 2.0% 2.5% 15.0% 10.7% 2.0x 10.0x 21.3x 4Q10 1.5 17.2% 57.5% 7.2% 20.6% 4.0% 0.4% 17.7% 9.3% 2.0x 12.2x 25.4x Multimedia, Graphics, Digital Media Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings 4Q09 2.1 14.2% 68.7% 7.2% -1.3% -8.4% -1.8% 13.1% 43.8% 2.6x 17.7x 35.9x 1Q10 2.2 17.9% 68.7% 5.6% -17.3% -6.1% 16.9% 14.7% 65.0% 2.9x 18.2x 45.3x 2Q10 2.4 17.3% 68.3% 4.6% -16.0% 0.6% -1.5% 11.5% 42.1% 2.7x 18.4x 41.4x 3Q10 2.2 17.4% 68.6% 2.9% 20.8% 6.4% 6.4% 17.5% 25.1% 2.5x 13.7x 29.4x 4Q10 2.2 16.6% 68.1% 1.8% 42.4% 6.4% 12.6% 14.0% 23.6% 3.3x 14.5x 24.6x
Entertainment Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 1.7 22.4% 61.2% -7.6% -21.9% -11.6% -11.2% 31.4% 24.1% 1.0x 7.2x 13.2x
1Q10 2.3 14.7% 62.3% -8.3% -19.2% -12.0% 56.5% 36.1% 64.8% 1.0x 8.8x 10.6x
2Q10 2.7 1.9% 63.5% -1.0% -13.1% -12.1% 26.1% 34.9% -8.4% 1.0x 6.0x 8.5x
3Q10 2.5 5.3% 61.7% -5.1% 12.9% -14.0% -11.9% 41.5% -28.2% 0.9x 5.9x 6.7x
4Q10 2.0 6.6% 61.1% -4.3% 45.8% -10.5% 7.4% 31.3% -26.7% 1.2x 6.3x 7.3x
Networking & Connectivity Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 2.2 21.4% 78.2% 10.2% 27.7% 7.2% 19.4% 23.8% 40.4% 2.2x 13.6x 29.5x
1Q10 2.2 22.1% 78.4% 11.1% 22.8% 8.4% 25.6% 22.6% 112.2% 2.4x 19.9x 36.1x
2Q10 2.2 22.6% 78.7% 12.3% 5.0% 7.8% 10.8% 23.1% 90.3% 2.4x 17.1x 35.4x
3Q10 2.1 23.1% 78.7% 12.4% 17.2% 6.8% 6.4% 21.6% 57.3% 2.3x 15.5x 31.7x
4Q10 2.1 23.3% 78.8% 16.1% 51.7% 16.9% 31.6% 19.4% 55.3% 2.9x 19.6x 32.4x
Financial Services Software Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 1.3 18.6% 56.1% 10.0% 3.3% 0.8% 15.3% 13.7% 31.4% 2.3x 10.1x 24.5x
1Q10 1.1 19.8% 56.5% 11.2% 29.8% 0.4% 8.8% 11.2% 42.2% 2.5x 13.4x 25.7x
2Q10 1.3 22.1% 59.2% 10.3% 29.8% 3.3% 14.5% 12.1% 41.1% 2.6x 8.8x 22.3x
3Q10 1.4 23.1% 59.8% 10.1% 18.1% 6.7% 18.4% 12.6% 22.1% 2.2x 8.6x 26.4x
4Q10 1.3 21.3% 57.7% 9.4% 17.0% 7.7% 18.4% 12.3% 22.4% 2.8x 10.0x 31.4x Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin
Security
4Q09 2.0 19.7% 78.8% 6.5% 10.4% 8.8% 19.4% 13.6% 54.5% 3.5x 14.7x 15.6x
1Q10 2.0 19.1% 78.8% 8.8% -19.4% 13.2% 17.4% 14.9% 63.0% 3.7x 15.1x 25.6x
2Q10 2.2 19.0% 79.2% 9.3% -6.2% 14.4% 16.0% 14.4% 47.6% 3.9x 14.5x 22.9x
3Q10 2.2 20.2% 79.6% 11.9% 27.1% 13.8% 21.0% 17.0% 28.3% 4.0x 12.9x 23.8x
4Q10 2.6 20.3% 79.9% 11.2% 111.4% 11.8% 24.7% 14.5% 21.8% 3.8x 14.1x 18.9x
TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
Healthcare Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 3.7 23.4% 68.4% 10.3% -9.9% 4.4% -9.7% 8.2% 60.9% 3.7x 16.0x 36.6x
1Q10 3.6 24.7% 68.4% 10.1% -3.5% 5.5% 9.1% 8.5% 82.2% 2.8x 15.9x 33.7x
2Q10 3.7 24.9% 68.5% 9.9% 9.8% 8.0% 9.4% 9.2% 39.8% 3.4x 15.5x 35.0x
3Q10 2.8 21.9% 65.7% 8.9% 44.2% 14.8% 10.4% 7.0% 15.5% 3.4x 13.8x 36.3x
4Q10 2.7 22.3% 63.7% 8.2% 12.4% 16.3% 10.8% 6.7% 14.4% 3.5x 17.3x 37.2x
Storage & Systems Management Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 2.1 18.0% 80.6% 5.8% -5.4% 5.9% 10.2% 17.8% 46.0% 2.4x 13.8x 29.4x
1Q10 2.2 16.8% 80.3% 8.3% -1.8% 1.0% 4.1% 20.4% 50.9% 2.5x 11.8x 26.3x
2Q10 2.1 17.0% 79.1% 9.8% -5.3% 0.0% 1.6% 18.1% 40.4% 2.5x 11.5x 23.8x
3Q10 2.1 18.4% 77.2% 10.9% 4.1% 1.7% 17.2% 19.6% 21.8% 2.7x 11.0x 30.7x
4Q10 2.1 20.0% 76.0% 11.2% 24.4% 11.2% 21.0% 18.1% 23.9% 3.1x 12.2x 23.4x
Messaging, Conferencing & Comm. Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 1.8 7.9% 65.8% 3.0% 64.7% 9.3% 66.3% 21.1% 138.2% 1.8x 11.0x 21.1x
1Q10 1.9 7.5% 65.5% 0.7% 47.2% 11.5% 23.8% 17.5% 143.7% 1.8x 14.1x 22.2x
2Q10 2.0 7.8% 67.1% 6.8% 28.8% 10.0% 26.3% 18.8% 77.1% 1.9x 13.6x 26.1x
3Q10 2.0 12.9% 67.6% 6.9% 12.8% 10.1% -3.3% 16.6% 22.5% 1.6x 13.4x 30.0x
4Q10 2.0 15.3% 67.7% 8.1% 74.9% 10.3% 40.2% 11.5% 20.7% 2.6x 22.4x 31.9x
Supply Chain Management & Logistics Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings
4Q09 1.9 11.3% 56.4% 3.6% -18.7% -3.4% 12.7% 16.6% 83.4% 1.6x 13.1x 26.2x
1Q10 2.3 11.6% 56.9% 4.9% -3.2% -10.4% 21.6% 18.7% 61.0% 1.6x 13.1x 33.2x
2Q10 2.0 11.2% 57.0% 4.8% 18.8% -1.8% 40.5% 16.1% 57.3% 1.8x 11.9x 29.9x
3Q10 2.0 11.2% 56.7% 4.4% 5.1% 3.1% 34.8% 23.3% 29.1% 1.5x 9.3x 26.0x
4Q10 2.0 11.2% 56.2% 4.1% 58.9% 5.4% -4.2% 18.2% 28.1% 1.8x 10.8x 25.2x
www.softwareequity.com
APPENDIX A: 2010 PUBLIC MARKET VALUATIONS AND STATISTICS BY PRODUCT CATEGORY (CONTINUED)
Wireless Current Ratio EBITDA Margin Gross Profit Margin Net Income Margin TTM Earnings Growth (YoY) TTM Revenue Growth (YoY) TTM EBITDA Growth (YoY) Cash as Percent of Market Cap Enterprise Value Growth (YoY) EV/Revenue EV/EBITDA EV/Earnings 4Q09 2.6 10.0% 53.1% -10.7% 14.1% 2.2% -60.7% 16.0% 8.4% 1.3x 15.3x 32.0x 1Q10 2.0 9.6% 53.1% -2.7% -364.5% -1.2% -13.5% 17.7% 42.2% 1.7x 11.1x 38.8x 2Q10 2.0 11.8% 52.9% -0.5% 88.5% 13.6% 13.7% 25.6% 25.2% 1.6x 13.9x 42.7x 3Q10 2.9 7.4% 53.5% -0.2% 51.4% 15.1% 30.1% 40.0% -15.3% 1.1x 11.0x 32.7x 4Q10 3.0 7.4% 54.2% 0.1% 68.8% 15.1% 6.4% 27.8% -21.3% 1.1x 15.2x 33.0x
www.softwareequity.com
12/22/10 Rovi Corporation 12/07/10 Standard Life 11/29/10 Mellanox Technologies 11/21/10 Attachmate Corporation 11/08/10 Quest Softw are 09/24/10 CSG Systems 09/13/10 Hew lett-Packard 08/18/10 Intel 08/17/10 Marlin Equity Partners 08/12/10 IBM 07/20/10 Synchronica 06/22/10 06/21/10 Tibco Softw are 06/09/10 Allscripts-Misys 06/08/10 MQ Capital 06/08/10 TEOCO 06/03/10 Deltek 05/27/10 SGFQ 05/17/10 Vision Solutions 05/17/10 Google 05/17/10 Battery Ventures 05/09/10 Pharsight; Vector Capital 04/20/10 SAP 04/15/10 Oracle 03/25/10 Thoma Bravo 03/14/10 Pegasystems 03/02/10 Corew orx 02/22/10 Open Text 01/31/10 Haemonetics
www.softwareequity.com
Administaff ADP
Advanced Computer Softw are ANXeBusiness AQ Interactive Asseco SEE Astute AT&T Atego Autodesk Baker Hughes Battery Ventures
Benefitfocus.com Bentley
CA
www.softwareequity.com
Cegedim
CompuGroup Medical
Concentrix Constellation
Cryptzone
www.softwareequity.com
Hew lett-Packard
HgCapital HIS
HomeAw ay IBM
*Revenue Estimate
www.softwareequity.com
Informatica Ingenix
Innovise Intel
Ipsw itch Iron Data Solutions ITT Juniper Netw orks K3 Kingdee International Softw are Group
Law son Left Behind Games LM Ericsson McAfee Measured Progress Merge Healthcare
Microsoft
www.softwareequity.com
Pearson Playdom
Qualcomm
*Revenue Estimate
www.softwareequity.com
Synopsys
Temenos Teradata
Thoma Bravo
Thomson Reuters
*Revenue Estimate
www.softwareequity.com
Seller City Financials Speranza Systems Playdom* Tapulous FRS Belgium The Simply HR Softw are Company Challenge Games Zynga Germany
www.softwareequity.com
12/22/10 Rovi Corporation 12/21/10 Teradata Corporation 12/07/10 Aetna 11/21/10 Attachmate Corporation 11/12/10 Misys 09/13/10 Hew lett-Packard 08/18/10 Intel 07/27/10 Walt Disney 07/22/10 Roper Industries 07/06/10 Hexagon AB 07/01/10 Google 06/22/10 06/10/10 TPG Capital 06/09/10 Allscripts-Misys 05/24/10 IBM 04/20/10 SAP 04/15/10 Oracle
$2,144,620,000 $1,017,930,000 $1,650,250,000 $1,499,510,000 $7,695,310,000 $6,906,920,000 $763,200,000 $525,000,000 $700,000,000 $757,670,000 $763,200,000 $525,000,000 $700,000,000 $544,580,000
$2,125,000,000 $2,125,000,000
$1,400,000,000 $1,400,000,000 $1,288,480,000 $1,169,810,000 $1,400,000,000 $1,400,000,000 $6,689,610,000 $5,422,840,000 $720,850,000 $591,110,000
www.softwareequity.com
12/23/10 Callidus Softw are 12/20/10 Calyx Softw are, Inc. 12/17/10 Law son Softw are Americas 12/17/10 Citrix Online 12/13/10 Fairfax Media 12/13/10 Bisnode Business Information Group 12/08/10 Tibco Softw are 12/08/10 KT Corp 12/03/10 j2 Global Communications 12/02/10 Daptiv 12/01/10 Rearden Commerce 11/18/10 Concentrix 11/08/10 GFI Business Solutions 11/03/10 HaiVision Systems 11/02/10 Dell 11/01/10 Dachis Corporation 10/26/10 Bottomline Technologies 10/19/10 CollabNet 10/18/10 Operative 10/13/10 Fondaction 10/12/10 TMT Ventures 10/06/10 Talent Technology 10/05/10 Questback 10/05/10 Thomson Reuters 10/04/10 McGraw Hill Education 10/04/10 Neutron Interactive 09/24/10 Zynga, 09/21/10 Battery Ventures; Benchmark Capital 09/14/10 GameHouse 09/14/10 Tricom Infotech Solutions 09/01/10 MIJO 09/01/10 Taleo 08/31/10 Kenexa 08/30/10 CA 08/26/10 ANXeBusiness 08/23/10 ExactTarget 08/23/10 Visma ASA 08/18/10 Aliexpress 08/16/10 Ingenix 08/13/10 Telestream *Revenue estimate
www.softwareequity.com
08/10/10 Call24 08/10/10 Benefitfocus.com 08/06/10 Google 08/05/10 Dominion 08/02/10 Stepstone Solutions 07/31/10 FleetMatics Limited 07/27/10 Parallax Capital Partners 07/23/10 Versata 07/22/10 Mobile Media Unlimited 07/22/10 Roper Industries 07/19/10 Aw areness Technologies 07/15/10 SDL 07/13/10 AirClic 07/12/10 Pow w ow now 07/09/10 Atlantic Link Ukraine 07/07/10 Pictage 07/07/10 Webroot Softw are 07/07/10 Bentley Systems 07/06/10 Access 07/02/10 The SOS Print & Media Group 07/01/10 USU Softw are 07/01/10 Google 06/29/10 Constellation Softw are 06/24/10 Alibaba.com 06/15/10 Administaff 06/07/10 Fiserv 06/07/10 THL Credit 06/02/10 Mettoni 06/02/10 gomembers 06/01/10 Exponential Impact USA 05/28/10 Fourth Hospitality 05/21/10 Vertical Computer Systems 05/19/10 uVuMobile 05/14/10 CDC Softw are 05/11/10 The Sant Corporation 05/11/10 RedPrairie 05/10/10 Zamage Digital Art Imaging 05/10/10 GSI Commerce 05/06/10 AssetWorks 05/06/10 Prime Alliance Solutions *Revenue estimate
www.softwareequity.com
05/05/10 Hew itt Associates 05/03/10 SuccessFactors 04/29/10 CNW Group 04/26/10 Wall Street Systems Delaw are 04/26/10 DOAR 04/21/10 United Business Media 04/20/10 CDC Softw are 04/16/10 Vocus 04/14/10 Cloud Centric Systems 04/13/10 04/13/10 BoardSuite 04/06/10 BigHand 03/16/10 CSDC Systems 03/02/10 K3 Business Technology 02/12/10 TLC IT Group 02/09/10 Proofpoint 02/04/10 SuccessFactors 02/02/10 PGP Corp. 02/01/10 NorthgateArinso 01/31/10 Citrix Online 01/06/10 AdvancedMD Softw are 01/04/10 Sterling Infosystems *Revenue estimate
www.softwareequity.com
CA (NASDAQ: CA) acquires Nimsoft Category: IT Performance and Availability Monitoring Purchase Price: $350,000,000 Revenue (Estimate): $35,000,000 Revenue Multiple (Estimate): 10.0x Payment Terms: Cash SEGs Perspective: Leading IT infrastructure vendor, CA, acquires Nimsoft, a provider of IT performance and availability monitoring solutions to the mid-market enterprise sector. Nimsoft brings CA IT monitoring solutions capable of monitoring both on-demand applications such as Amazon Web Services and Salesforce.com, as well as internal applications, databases and physical and virtual server environments. The companys cloudcomputing monitoring capabilities also bolster CAs position in the mid-market and international markets, two areas of high growth potential for cloud application adoption. Nimsoft follows a string of recent CA acquisitions including NetQos, Cassat, Oblicore and 3Tera, and is CAs largest acquisition of a VC-backed company since its purchase of Wily Technology in 2006 ($375 million). After investing $22 million in Nimsoft over two rounds in 2007 and 2008, Goldman Sachs, JMI Equity and Northzone Ventures will see a quick and hefty return.
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) acquires McAfee (NYSE:MFE) Category: Security Software Purchase Price: $6,906,920,000EV Seller Revenue (TTM): $2,002,920,000 Seller EBITDA (TTM): $430,170,000 Revenue Multiple (TTM): 3.4xEV EBITDA Multiple (TTM): 16.1xEV Payment Terms: Cash SEGs Perspective: Intel hopes to tackle security concerns regarding the proliferation of Internet and IP enabled devices via its acquisition of security giant McAfee. The acquisition gives Intel security and security management technology, as well as utilities to add value to its chips and to differentiate it in the rapidly expanding mobile device market, an area it recently made significant foray into via acquisition of WindRiver Systems ($793.4EV million, 2.2xEV TTM revenue) in 2009. Interestingly, this acquisition also demonstrates a reinvestment in anti-malware security, as Intel divested its antivirus business to Symantec in 1998. Intels $48 per share tender offer represents a 53% premium over McAfees 30 day pre-announcement average closing stock price.
www.softwareequity.com
Misys (LSE:MSY) acquires Sophis Category: Financial Services Software Purchase Price: $603,860,000 Seller Revenue (TTM): $101,560,000 Revenue Multiple (TTM): 5.9x Payment Terms: Cash and Stock SEGs Perspective: Leading financial services software provider Misys, acquires rival Sophis, a provider of portfolio and risk management applications. The acquisition will enhance Misys cross-asset and buy-side position against Sungard, Thomson/Reuters and others in the bank, asset management and hedge fund segments, as well as create a potential competitive threat to Sungard, Martini and Ion Trading in the repo and securities lending space. Misys recent disposal of healthcare IT arm, Allscripts, provided the company with proceeds to finance the purchase of Sophis and focus exclusively on the financial services segment.
www.softwareequity.com
Open Text (NASDAQ: OTEX) acquires Nstein Technologies (TSXV: EIN) Category: Digital Content Management Software Purchase Price: $27,410,000EV Seller Revenue (TTM): $23,260,000 Seller EBITDA (TTM): ($400,000) Revenue Multiple (TTM): 1.2xEV Payment Terms: Cash SEGs Perspective: Leading content management vendor, Open Text, acquires Nstein Technologies, a provider of digital asset management, web content management and text mining solutions. Through its acquisition of Nstein, Open Text picks up an attractive customer base and extends its product suite to offer semantic analytics technologies (text mining software), allowing customers more advanced digital search capabilities. However, Nsteins digital asset management (DAM) and web content management (WCM) solutions significantly overlap with Open Texts current offerings, which the company picked up through acquisitions of Artesia and eMotion (DAM), and Vignette and Hummingbird (WCM) in recent years. The modest 1.2x TTM revenue valuation is likely a result of Nsteins flat TTM revenue growth, negative profitability and significant product overlap.
www.softwareequity.com
Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS) acquires Savvion Category: Business Process Management Purchase Price: $49,000,000 Seller Revenue (Estimate): $20,000,000 Revenue Multiple (Estimate): 2.5x Payment Terms: Cash SEGs Perspective: Leading infrastructure applications vendor, Progress Software, acquires Savvion, a provider of best-of-breed business process management solutions. Savvions BPM suite is highly complementary to Progress current Business Event Processing, Business Transaction Assurance and Integration product portfolio, and offers industry specific solutions for financial services, communications, healthcare, life sciences, energy and manufacturing, which are areas of strong presence for Progress. Progress recent BPM partner, Lombardi Software, was purchased by IBM in December 2009, leaving Progress to look for a new dance partner.
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
www.softwareequity.com
Ariba Inc.
Baidu, Inc.
www.softwareequity.com
comScore, Inc.
www.softwareequity.com
Deltek, Inc
Deltek, Inc announced last w eek that it plans to buy Maconomy. Kevin Parker, Deltek's President and Chief Executive said that the company is considering future acquisitions. There are a lot of things out there that are very attractive to us. We're alw ays looking for those things that w ork w ell w ithin our mission. Descartes Systems Group Inc. The Descartes Systems Group Inc held its earnings conference call. The company intends to look at acquisition opportunities. Art Mesher, CEO of the company said: We alw ays look to do acquisitions and you are correct that if you do the math, w e w ould have about almost $20 million left to spend. The good new s is that w e made all of our goals w ithout spending that $20 million. So I am not going to be in a hurry to go spend it. We have hit our targets w ithout spending that money. We w ould like to spend that money as long as w e do it prudently. But since w e are ahead of plan, w e kind of view it as putting time on our side and that is alw ays the best position to negotiate any deal from. So I think our behavior w ill continue to be more driven by getting the best opportunities for us. And as long as w e are ahead of plan, that probably somew hat impacts our urgency. It is sure better than being behind plan. But w e are an acquisitive company. We have numerous transactions that are in our pipeline. Our strategy hasn't changed at all. We are a buy-and-build company. We have had great cash flow generation. Our w orking capital compression on the acquisition has gone quite nice and there is some extra money in the bank and w e w ill continue to be prudent and make quality acquisitions w here the results can be seen in a w ay like w e have presented this quarter w here it becomes really clear that w e have a great situation going on. Digital River Inc. Digital River Inc. said that the company w ill continue to look for acquisition opportunities. Joel A. Ronning, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Digital River said, Another important grow th driver for us in 2010 w ill be acquisitions. Many of you have asked w hether acquisition strategy is in light of the Symantec announcement and our current cash balance. Our strategy continues to be the same as in previous years, w e look for opportunities to acquire products, services, contracts, or technologies that can help us expand our geographical footprint, our market opportunities, and product offerings. Well continue to prudent and methodical in our approach to evaluating new opportunities. eBay Inc. plans to look for acquisitions. While talking to the Wall Street Journal, John Donahoe, CEO of the firm mentioned that his company is open to acquisitions. eBay Inc. intends to make acquisitions in the Russian online retail market in order to maintain a foothold in the country. Chief Executive of the company, John Donahoe said: "If the right opportunity presents itself, w e w ill be open to acquisitions (in Russia)." John Donahoe said that Russia's e-commerce market is w orth $5 billion a year. He said: "Our goal ... is to have a small percentage of that ... The (Russian) market is at an exciting, but grow ing stage, and there is a lot of opportunity there." He added: "The Russian e-commerce market grew by more than 50% last year to $5 billion and can continue to do so for many years to come." eBay is concentrating on cross-border transactions, as they tend to provide higher revenue and gross margins compared to similar transactions w ithin a single country or market. Ebix Inc. reported record financial results for the second quarter of 2010 w ith revenue of $32.2 million. The company intends to look at acquisition opportunities. Ebixs Chairman, President and CEO, Robin Raina said: We believe that our cash can generate much higher returns for our shareholders, by investing in both new accretive acquisitions and organic grow th initiatives than through issuing dividends to our shareholders. Electronic Arts Inc. plans to look for acquisitions. The firm has $2 billion to spend on acquisitions, Chief Operating Officer of the firm, John Schappert said in an interview . Right now w e are pretty happy w ith how w e are positioned, he said. We have $2 billion in cash and no debt and that allow s the company to make acquisitions if it w ants to. Joe Tucci, the Chief Executive of EMC Corporation said that the company continues to look for small acquisitions, but w ould also look at bigger deals if the right one appeared. My strong, strong preference is to do a string of pearls and go after the smaller companies w ith leading technology, Mr. Tucci said. If the right bigger thing came along and I thought it w as incredibly accretive and w e had the ability to digest it relatively quickly I w ould look at it, he added. Areas of interest to Mr. Tucci include companies developing technology in data storage, security and virtualization -- softw are that makes data centers more flexible. When asked if EMC could be bought by a bigger company, Joe Tucci said, It's not w hat I think w ill happen. It w ould be a big check for anybody. Mr. Tucci said the company w ould continue to invest more in developing softw are that helps companies to manage and protect their vast troves of data. EMC Corporation has signaled the end of the recession by generating record first quarter revenues of $3.9 billion. The company is also on the lookout for acquisitions for itself and for VMw are, Inc. Chief Executive Officer, Joe Tucci said, "We are going to continue to buy companies both in VMw are and in EMC."
eBay Inc.
Ebix Inc.
EMC Corporation
eResearchTechnology, Inc.
eResearchTechnology, Inc. said that the company continues to look for acquisition opportunities. Mike Mckelvey, CEO of eResearchTechnology said, As you look at the latest guidance from the FDA in December 2008 on Type 2 diabetes drugs w here they need to do expanded analysis of the cardiac safety implications for Type 2 diabetes drugs is another example. We have attractive grow th strategies w ith opportunities for acquisitions. I think w e show ed that w ith the Covance acquisition. We had a healthy enough balance sheet w e could just w rite a check to do that. So, w e're continuing to look at other opportunities out there, w hether it is in the clinical trials space or w hat w e recently announced a couple w eeks ago is potential in the healthcare or the clinical care space.
www.softwareequity.com
Google Inc.
IAC/InterActiveCorp.
Imergent Inc.
InfoSpace Inc.
www.softwareequity.com
MakeMusic Inc.
McAfee, Inc.
NetEase.com, Inc.
Omnicell Inc.
www.softwareequity.com
PCTEL, Inc.
PCTEL, Inc. is looking for acquisitions. PCTEL Chairman and CEO, Marty Singer said, "We believe that PCTEL has a strong future and that w e have an unusual opportunity to invest directly in our company. Ultimately, how ever, our goal is to invest in the grow th of our business and to expand through acquisition and organic investment. Over the past 18 months, w e have acquired four assets and w e intend to evaluate other opportunities." Marty Singer, the Chairman & CEO of PCTEL, Inc., said in a conference call, w hen asked about acquisitions, We've completely integrated the Wi-Sys GPS antennas into our product line. They are not called Wi-Sys, they are called PCTEL; and GPS is an area that w e w ant to expand, both organically and through acquisition. We are very active. We're looking at a number of possibilities, and w e hope to be able to take advantage of this market to close on some attractive opportunities. Perfect World Co., Ltd. plans to look for acquisitions. Mr. Michael Chi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Perfect World said, Acquiring companies that are complementary to our core business remains a large part of our grow th strategy. We continue to see much potential in the broader entertainment industry in China and believe that our further involvement in this industry w ill lead to future benefits to our core business through content generation and co-promotion. As a part of this strategy, one of our controlled entities, Beijing Perfect World Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., recently signed agreements to invest in Beijing Xinbaoyuan Movie & TV Investment Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Baohong Entertainment & Media Co., Ltd. and take majority stakes in these companies. Both of these companies are engaged in the film and television production and distribution business. We are excited to w ork together w ith such a reputable team to further the development of the entertainment industry in China. With the continued rise of the number of internet users in China, w e believe there are vast opportunities for the strongest players in the online game industry. As w e continue to strengthen our platform by investing in R&D and expanding through acquisitions, w e have experienced some added pressure on margin and temporary fluctuations in our results. How ever, w e believe this is a necessary step for the long-term benefit of our Company and remain confident in our ability to sustain grow th w ith our strong development and operation team, stable portfolio of existing games, and exciting pipeline. Phoenix Technologies Ltd. may look at acquisitions. Although w e have no current plans, commitments or agreements w ith respect to any acquisitions, w e expect to continue to evaluate possible acquisitions of, or strategic investments in, businesses, products and technologies that are complementary to our business, w hich may require the use of cash, the company said in its 10-Q filing. priceline.com Incorporated reported net income of $78.5 million for the fourth quarter. Chief Executive Officer of the company, Jeffery Boyd said that it is not seeing much impact from the credit concerns in Europe or the currencys decline. He said: Our business performed w ell throughout 2009. Theres still a shift in travel booking from offline to online, and leisure travel stayed strong. The company has no plans to pay a dividend. He stated that priceline.com may utilize its cash for acquisitions. Progress Softw are Corp. held its earnings conference call. The company may look at acquisition opportunities. Rick Reidy, President and CEO of the company said: We'd be looking at -- for any technology gaps w ould be looking at partnerships. As w ell as potential acquisitions but those w ould be tuckins and those w ould be simply a buy or build decision at that point. So largely, if w e w ere going to do a bigger acquisition it w ould be to enhance our RPM story and strategy but in a financially sound w ay. Progress Softw are Corp. plans to look for acquisitions. Rob Levy, executive vice-president and chief product officer of the firm said that the firm is looking for extension of the RPM suite next year, either through acquisitions or building new versions in-house. As the chief product officer, I alw ays look for acquisitions. We w ill start talking about RPMs Version-II beginning next year w hen w e w ill think about w hat technology w e need to acquire, Levy said, adding India w as a market w ith a lot of technologies and many opportunities for acquisitions. PROS Holdings Inc. held its earnings conference call. The company intends to look at acquisition opportunities. Charlie Murphy, Chairman, CEO and President of the company said: Estimated expenses assumed in the guidance w e are providing for the third quarter is approximately $16.4 million. We believe these planned investments w ill up-drive organic revenue grow th. At the same time, our long-term grow th could also be supported by acquisitions considering our strong cash position of $60.8 million. While w e have no specific activity to announce at this time, w e have and w ill consider acquisitions that support our long-term objectives.
priceline.com Incorporated
www.softwareequity.com
Salesforce.com
SAP AG
Sina Corp. reported fourth-quarter net income of $372.1 million. The company intends to look at acquisition opportunities. Chief Executive of the company, Charles Chao stated that Sina intends to use its cash for acquisitions in online games and other areas to promote revenue grow th and diversification and enhance product and user technology. Sohu.com Inc. Sohu.com Inc w as planning to make a small acquisition in the w ireless internet field. Chairman and CEO of the company, Charles Zhang said: "We're not looking at any acquisitions, but maybe just a small one. SoundBite Communications, Inc. SoundBite Communications Inc. held its earnings conference call. The company intends to look at acquisition opportunities. Jim Milton, President and CEO of the company said: The strategic groundw ork w e've laid gives us a solid foundation to explore opportunities that could help accelerate our internal grow th. Whether w e decide to selectively pursue acquiring businesses or technologies that w ill expand our service or provide access to new markets or clients, w e are now in a much better position to consider acquisitions and other corporate initiatives. This has become a core piece of our grow th strategy now that w e have the operational foundation in place, a complete understanding of the market, and a strategic vision of w here w e w ant to take the business. SuccessFactors, Inc. SuccessFactors Inc. has acquired CubeTree. The company reported a loss of $4.6 million. The company stated that it continues to look for selective acquisition opportunities to further its technology, create resell able high margin content and expand its geographic presence. Symantec Corporation Symantec Corporation is looking for acquisitions in India. Vice President, Asia South Region, Eric Hoh said that the company plans to focus on expanding its base through strategic acquisitions. He said, "India is an important destination for us. We are looking at acquisitions all the time and w e w ill certainly w ant to acquire as many companies. We w ill be investing heavily in India to expand our presence in terms of IPs, sales offices, R&D units and increasing our w orkforce."
www.softwareequity.com
ValueClick, Inc.
Vistaprint N.V.
Workstream Inc.
Yahoo! Inc.
www.softwareequity.com
To keep your finger on the pulse of the software equity markets, subscribe to our Monthly and Quarterly Reports at http://www.softwareequity.com/research_reports.aspx. Software Equity Group is an investment bank and M&A advisory serving the software and technology sectors. Since 1992, our firm has represented and guided private companies throughout the United States and Canada, as well as Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and Israel. We have advised public companies listed on the NASDAQ, NYSE, American, Toronto, London and Euronext exchanges. Software Equity Group also represents several of the world's leading private equity firms. For a confidential consultation without obligation, please contact Kris Beible, Director, Business Development (858 509-2800, kbeible@softwareequity.com).
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Software Equity Group, L.L.C. 12220 El Camino Real, Suite 320 San Diego, CA 92130 www.softwareequity.com p: (858) 509-2800 f: (858) 509-2818
The information contained in this Report is obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but no representation or guarantee is made about the accuracy or completeness of such information, or the opinions expressed herein. Nothing in this Report is intended to be a recommendation of a specific security or company or intended to constitute an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, any security. Software Equity Group LLC may have an interest in one or more of the securities or companies discussed herein. Financial data provided by Capital IQ. This Report may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the expressed prior written authorization of Software Equity Group, L.L.C. Software Equity Group registers each Report with the U.S. Copyright Office and vigorously enforces its intellectual property rights. Copyright 2011 by Software Equity Group, L.L.C., All Rights Reserved