A record number of acquisitions and issues, five times higher than last year - these are the findings of the exit report of the accounting and consulting firm PwC for 2021.
According to the report, the volume of transactions and issues was about $ 82.4 billion this year, an increase of about 520% more than in the previous year, when the total amount was about $ 15.4 billion. Also, 171 transactions were recorded this year, compared to the previous year Where a total of 60 transactions took place.
If we take into account follow-on transactions (2021-2019), the total exits (issues, mergers and acquisitions), which were neutralized from the report due to the fact that they were included in the company's reports at the time of the previous issue or sale, totaled $ 99.2 billion in 2021. This is compared to 2020, when the total number of follow-on transactions was about $ 17.1 billion.
Particularly notable in follow-on transactions is the issuance of Playtica, worth about $ 13 billion.
An upward trend was also observed in the average value per transaction - with a record number of $ 482 million on average per transaction, which is a growth of about 190% from the previous year, when the average value per transaction was $ 257 million.
This year the number of deals that crossed the $ 1 billion mark among technology companies was no less than 21.
All issues, 20 of which occurred in the US. A record was also recorded in terms of issues - 72 issues for 2021 in the amount of about $ 71 billion, compared to 2020 where only 19 issues were recorded in the amount of about $ 9.3 billion. Average issue size for 2021 Stands at $ 985 million, compared to $ 489 million in 2020, due to IPOs (including spikes) in the US.
The market is selective
In the past year, there has been a significant increase in the number of blue-and-white transactions, with 32 acquisition transactions by Israelis, led by Avanan (by Check Point) and Vdoo (by Jfrog), compared to 11 acquisition transactions in 2020 and 10 acquisition transactions in 2019. The US remains the most significant in terms of buyers.
Yaron Weizenblit, partner and head of the high-tech cluster at PwC Israel, notes: "We folded into a year a process that was expected to take a decade in terms of humanity's recognition of the importance and technological need.
"In 2022, equals in the field will be challenged, and we are expected to experience another and more selective wave of issues towards the second half of the year. In the previous year, these days we have actually concluded on this report a wonderful decade for Israeli high-tech.
"The rapid adaptability and resilience of the local technology market gave their signals already in the second half of the previous year."
Wiesenblit also referred to the forecast for 2022: "The Israeli market today looks much more selective, so I believe that in 2022 it will be relevant to certain companies, large and well-established. As a result, we will also experience a decrease in the number of issues on the stock exchange.
"Although the spikes have dropped significantly, in our estimates, in the second half of 2022 and early 2023 we will see excellent Israeli companies again, choosing to enter the front door of the US stock market in the process of an initial public offering," he concluded.
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