M&A activities down further still

EMS Consolidations were the most common type of transaction with 10 transactions in 2013 (or 42% of total activity), compared to 14 transactions in 2012 (which represented 48% of activity last year). In 2013, there were seven Vertical/Horizontal Convergence transactions, down from the 10 recorded in 2012. This year’s activity represented 29% of the total (compared to 35% last year). Private equity investments were slightly up, compared to three in 2012, with five total transactions in 2013, or 21% of the total (as compared to 10% last year). Lincoln expects that this increase was due in part to the strong market growth and favorable financing market conditions during the year. EMS divestiture transactions were slightly lower with one transaction in 2013 compared to two transactions in 2012, representing approximately 4% and 7% of total transactions in 2013 and 2012, respectively. There was one OEM divestiture in 2013, representing 4% of the total transaction activity, compared to none in 2012. © Lincoln International Nine of the deals completed in 2013 were in North America. This represented 38% of the transactions closed in 2013. Seven transactions were consummated in Europe in 2013, representing 29% of total transaction volume. Five transaction were between two different high-cost regions (21% of the total). The other transactions were split amongst other geographies with two occurring in Asia (8%) and one in other geographies (4%). No transactions occurred between high-cost regions and low-cost regions. In terms of the size of transactions, 2013 was dominated by the Small Tier, with 21 transactions, or approximately 88% of total activity. Mid Tier EMS providers closed two transactions, representing approximately 8% of the total. Large Tier providers added one transaction, representing approximately 4% of the total.