PitchBook-2023年三季度美國(guó)PE中間市場(chǎng)報(bào)告（英）

Q32023USUS

PE

Midd

leMa

rket

Repor

tSponsored

by2Sponsored

byContentsExecutivesummary4PitchBookData,Inc.John

Gabbert

Founder,CEODeals6NizarTarhuni

Vice

President,

Institutional

Research

and

EditorialDylan

Cox,CFA

Head

ofPrivateMarkets

ResearchAwordfromAntaresCapitalDeals

bysizeand

sector1315InstitutionalResearchGroupSpotlight:Privatecreditlenders

offer

flexibility,win

16dealsviaPIKinterestpaymentsAnalysisExits20252731Tim

ClarkeLead

Analyst,

Private

Equitytim.clarke@AwordfromBakerTillyFundraisingand

performanceGarrett

HindsSenior

Analyst,

Private

Equitygarrett.hinds@Q32023USPEmiddle-marketlendingleague

tablesJinny

ChoiAnalyst,

Private

Equityjinny.choi@KyleWaltersAssociate

Analyst,

Private

Equitykyle.walters@DataAlyssa

WilliamsSenior

Data

Analystpbinstitutionalresearch@PublishingReportdesignedbyDrewSandersPublished

on

December

14,

2023Clickhere

for

PitchBook’s

report

methodologies.3Q3

2023

US

PE

MIDDLE

MARKET

REPORTSponsored

byExecutive

summar

yThe

malaiseinbigdeal

activity

finallycaught

upwiththesmalland

midsizeddeal

market.Unlikemegadeals,

wherethemainculprithasbeen

limitedaccesstodebt,

lendingtomiddlemarketsisinamplesupply.The

problemhasbeenmoreabout

gettingdealstolenders

inthefirst

place.

Anearlyfullpercentagepointriseininterestrates,thistimeon

thelongend,

caused

buyerstopause

and

assets

toreprice—privateequity

assets

included.

Middle-marketdealsthatdidmanagetoclosedidso

atlowermultipleson

EBITDA,althoughsome

firmingwasevidenton

revenuemultiplesandinthetechnology

sector.Fundraisinghasbeen

abrightspotformiddlemarketsthisyear.Whilemegafunds

havestruggled

withtheirfundraisingformost

oftheyear,middle-marketfunds

made

inroadswithinvestorsinsearchofdifferentiatedreturnstrategieswithless

dependency

on

leverage.Total

capitalraised

formiddle-marketfunds

willlikelyclose

flat

with

2022’stotal,which

is

nota

bad

resultgiven

the

challenging

environmentand

negativecomparisons

everywhere

else

in

private-markets

fundraising.The

middle-marketshare

ofallPE

buyoutfunds

closed

this

yearis

tracking

atclose

to40%,

the

high

end

ofits

10-year

range.Part

ofwhatfueled

middle-marketfundraisingwassuperiorperformance

byits

funds

relativetomegafunds,agapthatpeakedinQ4

2022.As

ifon

cue,

middle-marketoutperformance

hasbegun

towaneone

yearafter

itstarted.Still,middle-marketfunds

hungontomost

ofits

gainsversusmegafunds

inQ22023,

themost

recentquarter

wehavedatafor,

on

atrailing12-monthbasis.Middle-marketshareofallPEbuyoutsisstillon

trackforitsbest

yearyet.Still,itcouldnotbuck

theoveralltrendwhichsawasharpdownturnindeal

activity

inQ3bothon

thebuyand

sellside.

Exits

ofmiddle-marketcompaniessteppeddownbymorethan25%duringthequarter.Meanwhile,PE-led,middle-marketbuyouts,

whichhadshownpersistentsignsofstabilizing,alsopushed

lowerinQ3insearchofanewbottom.

Nonbackedfounder-ownedbusinesses

continuetocomprisemost

ofthefeedstockformiddle-marketdeal

flow,as

companieswithbackingarebeingheld

forlonger.PEmiddlemarketAUM

($B)Remainingvalue

($B)Dry

powder($B)20132014201520162017201820192020202120222023*Source:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

US*AsofMarch

31,

20234Q3

2023

US

PE

MIDDLE

MARKET

REPORTEXECUTIVE

SUMMARYSponsored

byPE-backedcompanycountby

investmentvintage12,000Total2021-2023*2015-20202009-20142000-2008Pre-200010,0008,0006,0004,0002,0000Middlemarket20132014201520162017201820192020202120222023*Source:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

US*AsofSeptember

30,

2023PEtargetswithnobackingasashareofallPEmiddle-marketbuyoutsby

quarter56%54%52%50%52.2%51.4%48%46%44%Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3202120222023*Source:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

US*AsofSeptember

30,

20235Q3

2023

US

PE

MIDDLE

MARKET

REPORTEXECUTIVE

SUMMARYSponsored

byDealsPEmiddle-marketdealactivity4,3213,4772,9502,8662,5152,4822,2691,7911,8821,8081,359$203.22013$298.92014$276.12015$267.32016$331.1$408.7$406.82019$353.62020$606.02021$450.92022$293.62023*20172018Deal

value($B)Deal

countEstimateddeal

countSource:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

US*AsofSeptember

30,

2023OverviewPEmiddle-marketdealactivityby

quarter$2501,6001,4001,2001,000800600400200US

PE

middle-marketbuyoutactivity

slippedtoa

six-yearlow

inQ32023,breaking

below

the

narrow

band

it

had

been

churningin

overthe

past

seven

quarters.

Totalvalue

plummeted

by13.4%from

the

prior

quarter

while

dealcountdeclinedby2.5%.

Thepeak-to-troughdecline

now

measures

47.9%

byvalue

from

theQ4

2021peak.

The

middle

markettook

its

lumps

early

relative

tothe

overallbuyoutmarket.Dealcountand

value

both

collapsedbyroughly

35%

to40%

in

the

quarter

following

the

peak

andseemed

to

havefound

its

footing

since

then.

However,

Q3

wasadefinite

setback.Much

like

the

overallM&A

dealenvironment,the

middle

markethas

yet

to

makea

definitive

bottom.$200$150$100$50$00PE

firms

announced

or

closed

803

US

middle-marketbuyoutdeals

foratotalof$87.7

billionindealvalueinQ3.YTD,

dealvalueand

counthavedeclined

by13.9%

and

1.0%,

respectively.Whiledisappointing,the

contraction

inmiddle-marketdealflow

has

been

less

severethanthe

overallUS

buyoutmarket,which

is

downinYTD

dealvalueand

count,29.3%

and

6.0%,respectively.As

aresult,the

middle-marketshareofallbuyoutdeals

has

expandedto73.6%

YTD

from

afive-yearaverageof68.6%.

Ifmaintained,thiswouldbe

the

highest

readingeverhavingneverexceeded

72%

forafullyear.Itwouldalsomark

asharp

reversalfrom

amarketpreviouslydominatedQ1

Q3

Q1

Q3

Q1

Q3

Q1

Q3

Q1

Q3

Q1

Q3201820192020202120222023*Deal

value($B)Deal

countEstimateddeal

countSource:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

US*AsofSeptember

30,

2023bymegafunds

and

megadeals.

As

recentlyas

Q22022,themiddle-marketshareofdealvaluehitamore

thansix-yearlowof42.3%

beforerebounding

to62.0%

inQ32023.6Q3

2023

US

PE

MIDDLE

MARKET

REPORTDEALSSponsored

byPEmiddle-marketbuyoutvalueasashareofallPEbuyoutvaluePEmiddle-marketbuyoutcountasashareofallPEbuyouts70%68%80%73.6%75%70%65%60%55%50%45%40%65.1%66%64%62%60%58%56%54%52%50%66.0%56.5%2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023*2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023*Source:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

USSource:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

US*AsofSeptember

30,

2023*AsofSeptember

30,

2023The

forcesdrivingtheslowdowninmegadeal

activity

havebeen

welldocumented,

withthemost

powerful

beingreducedaccesstodebt.

Formost

of2023,

aglassceilingstayedinplaceatthe$2billionlevelforlargeleveragedbuyout(LBO)financings,

althoughthatbegan

toweakeninthepast

twoquarters

withtheannouncement

ofseveralmultibillion-dollardebtpackages.

Eventechhasbrokenthrough,withthe$2.6billioncommitmenttotheNewRelicLBO

byaclubofprivatecreditlenders.

Still,lookingatannounced

PEbuyoutsoflargepublicor

privatecompaniesso

farin2023,

justfivehavereceived$2billionor

moreindebtfinancingas

comparedwith15

duringthesame

spanin2022.threeyearstoreach$869.3billion,or

62.0%thesizeoftheUSleveragedloanmarket,whichlends

totheworld’slargestcompaniesbut

hasbarelygrownduringthesame

span.The

downturninQ3middle-marketactivity

hadless

todowithrestrictiveaccesstodebtas

much

as

gettingdealstolenders

tobeginwith.Whiletherearewillinglenders

abound,thesupplyofwillingbuyersand

sellers

shrankduringQ3.Anotherinterest-rateshock

wasadministeredduringthequarter,thistimeon

thelongend,

withthe10-yeartreasuryyieldrisingbynearlyafullpercentagepointtoa15-yearhigh.Grantedthatmiddle-marketdealsarefarfromtheflameofpublicmarkets,theyarenottotallyimmunetothecapitalmarketspricingmodel.

A25%riseintherisk-freeratealtersthepriceatwhichbuyersarewillingtopayforlong-durationassets

and

discountedcash

flows.Thiscaused

dealdeliberationstostallduringthequarter

and

deal

valuetostepdowntoanewpost-COVID-19low.Middle-marketdealmakingoperateswellbelowthe$2billionglassceiling.Farfrombeingstarved

fordebt,

thesector

isbeingactivelycourted

bythevastand

growingcomplexofprivatecreditlenders.

Between

privatedebtfunds

backedbyinstitutions,listedbusiness-developmentcompanies(BDCs)backedbypublicinvestors,and

anewbreed

ofnontradedBDCs

and

intervalfunds

backedbyretailinvestors,weestimatethatthere

aremore

than1,300

privatecredit

vehiclesintheUSalone,

and

virtuallyallhavetheexpressedpurposeoflendingtosmalland

middle-marketbusinesses.

TheaggregateAUMinthese

vehicleshasgrownrapidlyinthepastWe

believethatthepreconditionsarestillinplaceforasustainedrecoveryinmiddle-marketPEdeal

activity,butQ3wasadefinitesetbackthatdelayedtherebound

byaquarter

or

more.7Q3

2023

US

PE

MIDDLE

MARKET

REPORTDEALSSponsored

byValuationsMedianPEmiddle-marketEV/EBITDA

multiples16xDeal

multipleson

middle-marketbuyoutsweremixedforthe12monthsendingQ32023.

Whereasenterprisevalue/EBITDA(EV/EBITDA)multiplescontinuedtoslide,EV/revenuemultiplesshowedsignsoffirming.Of

thetwomeasures,

weviewrevenuemultiplesas

amorereliableand

less

volatileindicator.The

sample

sizeofdealshavingdisclosedrevenuesismuch

higherthanthosewithdisclosedEBITDA—byafactoroftwoformiddle-market-sizeddeals.

Revenuemultiplesalsotendtobe

abetter

yardstickfortechnology

deals,

manyofwhichlackfullydisclosedor

meaningful

EBITDAnumbers.14x12x10x8x13.0x11.4x6x4xThe

EV/EBITDAand

EV/revenuemultiplesnowstand

at11.4xand

2.4x,

respectively.We

combineNorth

America

andEuropeinordertoexpandour

sample

size,as

lowdisclosureratesintheUSinparticularcan

producehighlymisleadingmediansand

trends,and

theregionsarewellcorrelated.On

anEBITDAbasis,2019wasthepeak

yearforPEmiddlemarketsat14.3x.

On

arevenuebasis,themiddlemarketspeakedin2021at3.2x,

coincidingwiththepeak

intechandthebroader

market.Fromthat2021peak,

revenuemultipleshavesincecorrectedby26.1%throughQ32023.2x0x2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

TTM*Source:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

North

America

and

Europe*AsofSeptember

30,

2023MedianPEmiddle-marketEV/revenue

multiples3.5xWe

attributethelatestmultiplesdeclinetoafurtherdislocationinbid-askspreadsinfavorofbuyers.

PriordislocationsinthePEmarkethavetaken12to24

monthstoworkthemselvesout,

and

thesame

appears

tobe

happeningnow.ManyofthetoppublicPEfirms

havestatedintheirQ3earningscallsthattheyhavedeliberatelypostponed

runningsale

processes

fortheirportfolio

companies,asentimentrepeatedbyour

conversationswithotherPEsponsors.3.0x2.4x2.4x2.5x2.0x1.5x1.0x0.5x0.0x2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

TTM*Source:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

North

America

and

Europe*AsofSeptember

30,

20238Q3

2023

US

PE

MIDDLE

MARKET

REPORTDEALSSponsored

byTake-privatesPEtake-privatedealactivityThe

volume

oftake-private

deals

moderated

somewhat

in

Q3but

is

still

running

well

ahead

ofH2

2022,

when

public

sharesspent

more

ofthe

time

declining

and

buyers

scrambled

to

lineup

new

sources

of

financing.

In

all,

PE

buyers

announced

23

take-privates

in

in

North

America

and

Europe

during

Q3,

unchangedfrom

Q2.Examining

the

data

reveals

a

continued

trend

oftake-privates

getting

smaller

and

migrating

to

the

middle

market.A

total

of15

deals,

or

approximately

two-thirds

ofQ3’s

total,involved

companies

valued

at

less

than

$1

billion,

up

from

a55.0%

five-year

average

in

prior

years.

The

median

size

ofalltake-privates

in

Q3

was

just

$469.0

million,

down

from

$682.0million

in

the

five

years

prior.9694949187848583767066Fewer

recent

listings

fell

into

Q3’s

deal

list,

or

what

we

callthe

“boomerang”

stocks—companies

that

went

public

onlyto

go

private

again.

Over

1,000

unicorns

were

taken

public

inthe

frenzy

between

2020

and

2021,

with

two-thirds

sinkingbelow

the

$1

billion

mark

as

share

prices

collapsed.

Two

ofthe

15

take-privates

under

$1

billion

fit

that

description

in

Q3,2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023*Deal

value($B)

Deal

countSource:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

North

America

and

Europe*AsofSeptember

30,

2023PEtake-privatedealsunder$1billioninQ32023*Announced

date

(2023)September

20September

20September

18September

8September

4August

30CompanyAcquirerDeal

value

($M)$187.0CountryUKFinsbury

Food

GroupSelf

Storage

GroupHS

GovTechSolutionsRound

Hill

MusicErgomedDBAYAdvisorsTIAA-CREF

Asset

ManagementBanneker

PartnersGreat

Mountain

PartnersPermira$458.0$33.3NorwayUS$469.0$890.0$257.9USUKInstemArchiMedUKAugust

30OsiriumBarton

Technology

Ventures$8.3UKAccel-KKR,

Basware,

Briarwood

Capital,

LongPath

PartnersAugust

14Glantus$19.7IrelandAugust

9August

7August

2July

17Computer

TaskGroupTabula

Rasa

HealthcareBlancco

Technology

GroupGresham

HouseCegeka,

Gimv,

NoshaqAlpInvest

Partners$170.0$570.0$225.5$601.3USUSUKUKFrancisco

PartnersSearchlight

Capital

PartnersDe

Engh

B.V.,Navitas

Capital,

TeslinCapitalManagement,

TorqxCapital

PartnersJuly

10Beter

Bed$183.2NetherlandsJuly

10July

4STM

GroupDigizuitePension

SuperFund

CapitalGRO

Capital$51.9UK$42.4$187.0DenmarkMedianSource:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

North

America

and

Europe*AsofSeptember

30,

20239Q3

2023

US

PE

MIDDLE

MARKET

REPORTDEALSSponsored

bydown

from

four

in

Q2and

six

in

Q1.

PE

buyers

havesteeredclear

ofboomerang

candidates

fornow,

opting

instead

formore

seasoned

companies

with

pristine

balance

sheets.

BothErgomed

and

Bianco

Technology

Group

were

net

cash

positivepriorto

their

announced

take-privates

in

Q3.

This

helpedErgomed

to

line

up

$350

million

in

private

credit

financing

for

its$890

million

buyout

by

Permira

and

Bianco

Technology

tonet$150

million

in

debt

financing,

also

private

credit,

for

its

$225million

buyout

by

Francisco

Partners.multiples.

The

majority

ofdeals

in

this

category

fall

within

therange

of$25

million

to$100

million,

as

well

as

below

$25

million.These

transactions

typically

come

with

a

significant

discountcompared

with

larger

deals

backed

by

sponsors,

as

businessesacquired

for

under

$100

million

tend

to

havelower

EBITDA

andrevenue

multiples.

In

the

middle

market,

the

median

TTM

E

V/EBITDA

multiple

is

11.4x,

which

drops

to6.8x

for

deals

under$100

million.

Similarly,EV/revenue

multiples

decrease

from

2.4xto

1.1x

in

the

same

size

range.PE

firms

are

well

suited

to

acquire

midsized

companies

followinga

valuation

reset

in

public

markets.

They

are

able

toconducta

transformational

overhaul

without

the

intense

distractionsand

costs

associated

with

public

ownership.

Companies

below$1

billion

in

market

cap

are

especially

hard-pressed

toreap

thebenefits

ofbeing

publicly

listed

on

a

major

exchange

due

thevery

limited

trading

volume

and

research

coverage

that

they

arelikely

toattract,

making

them

prime

take-private

candidates.CarveoutsCarveouts

haveseen

a

rise

in

their

share

ofthe

overall

deal

mix.These

transactions

offer

sellers

an

opportunity

to

generate

cashand

enable

buyersto

potentially

reduce

their

check

size,

whichis

particularly

pertinent

in

a

high-interest-rate

environment.

Assuch,

carveouts

and

divestitures

havewitnessed

an

increasein

their

proportion

ofall

middle-market

deals

for

the

first

timesince

2015.

During

the

first

three

quarters

of2023,

carveoutsaccounted

for

8.7%

ofall

middle-market

deals,

up

from

7.6%

in2022.

On

a

quarterly

basis,

the

percentage

ofcarveouts

in

allmiddle-market

deal

activity

has

been

on

an

upward

trajectorysince

Q4

2021,

starting

at

5.8%

and

reaching

9.1%

in

Q3

of2023.Although

the

Q3

percentage

represents

a

decline

from

Q2,

itremains

higher

than

the

8.4%

recorded

in

Q1

and

demonstratesan

upward

trend.Founder-owned

businessesCompanies

with

no

backing,

meaning

they

havenever

beforetaken

institutional

money,havehistorically

represented

ameaningful

portion

ofdeal

activity.

Since

the

beginning

of2021,there

has

been

a

further

increase

in

the

percentage

oftotaldeals

accounted

for

by

these

nonbacked

companies.

Thesebusinesses,

typically

characterized

by

founder

ownership,tend

tobe

appealing

targets

for

PE

buyers

for

reasons

thatare

explored

in

our

Q2

2023

Analyst

Note:

Founder-OwnedBusinesses

AreAttractive

M&A

Targets.Carveouts/divestituresasashareofallPEmiddle-marketbuyoutsby

quarter12%In

Q3,

nonbacked

companies

accounted

for

52.2%

ofall

middle-market

buyouts

in

the

US,

a

notable

increase

from

44.0%

inQ1

2021.

However,

this

is

well

off

2019

highs

when

nonbackedcompanies

peaked

at59.4%

ofall

PE

middle-market

buyouts,capping

a

nine-year

uptrend.

The

COVID-19

pandemic

causedPE

interest

in

nonbacked

companiesto

nosedive

during

thatspan

as

they

were

less

equipped

toabsorb

the

financial

shock.So,

in

many

respects,

the

recent

rise

in

nonbacked

companies

isabout

regaining

lost

ground,

but

it

also

reflects

the

inertia

thathas

prevailed

with

other

seller

types.

Those

that

can

afford

towait

out

the

current

adverse

interest-rate

cycle

are

doing

so,

andthat

includes

many

financial

sponsors

and

would-be

PE

sellers.Nonbacked

companies,

such

as

those

that

are

founder

owned,are

motivated

by

other

considerations,

not

the

least

ofwhich

aredemographic,

as

key

members

ofthe

management

team

reachthe

end

oftheir

working

life.10.6%11%10%9%9.1%8%7%6%5%4%Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3201820192020202120222023*Source:

PitchBook

?

Geography:

US*AsofSeptember

30,

2023Founder-owned

businesses

are

often

found

in

the

lower

endofthe

market,

and

can

offer

more

appealing

purchase

price10Q3

2023

US

PE

MIDDLE

MARKET

REPORTDEALSSponsored

byIn

the

short

term,

we

expect

carveouts

to

continue

topushhigher

in

the

current

environment.

Carveouts

typically

involvethe

assets

ofa

public

company

and

serve

as

a

cost-effectivealternative

totaking

an

entire

public

company

private.

Theseassets

are

often

well-established

and

come

with

readilyavailable

historical

financial

data.

This

enables

more

effectivedue

diligence

for

both

acquirers

and

lenders,

potentiallyattracting

a

larger

pool

ofbidders

and

allowing

the

seller

tomake

a

more

objective

assessment

ofthe

fair

market

value

ofabusiness

unit

now

deemed

noncore

to

the

future

strategy

ofthebusiness.

In

a

time

ofwide

bid-ask

spreads,

carveouts

can

fosterbetter

alignment

between

buyers

and

sellers.At

the

outset

of

Q3,

manymarket

participants

had

expectedan

uptick

in

IT

deal

activity

amid

signs

of

moderating

inflation.However,

these

hopes

faded

as

the

macroeconomic

andgeopolitical

backdrop

turned

negative.

In

recent

conversationswith

industry

participants,

we

find

the

most

significant

issuehindering

a

resumption

in

deal

activity

is

the

wide

gap

in

valuationexpectations

between

buyers

and

sellers.

While

there

are

manytransactions

being

shopped

and

evaluated,

the

deals

getting

donetend

to

be

the

cream-of-the-crop

assets

where

buyers

are

willingto

stretch

to

meet

the

higher

valuation

expectations

of

sellers.This

is

also

contributing

to

the

strange

phenomenon

where

wesee

deal

multiples

actually

increasing

in

our

data

despite

thesharp

rise

in

long-term

interest

rates.

This

is

in

part

due

to

theshift

to

sellers

parting

with

higher-quality

assets

only.

Those

thathave

the

financial

flexibility

will

attempt

to

wait

out

the

currentinterest-rate

cycle.

But

investors

and

asset

owners

can

only

waitso

long.

Eventually,

things

will

unseize

and

transactions

will

flow,and

we

expect

that

technology

will

lead

the

way.Notable

carveouts

in

the

quarter

include

Duke

Energy,

which,in

July,

announced

it

would

divest

its

commercial

distributedgeneration

businesstoArcLight

Capital

Partners

for

$364.0million.

Duke

Energy

reached

a

sale

agreement

for

its

utility-scale

renewable

business

platform

in

the

month

prior

andwill

use

the

proceeds

ofthe

sale

tostrengthen

the

company’sbalance

sheet

and

avoid

additional

holding

company

debtissuances

associated

with

these

assets.

As

for

ArcLight,the

acquisition

will

build

on

the

firm’s

strategy

ofacquiringoperating

assets

and

establishing

standalone

renewable

energyNotable

transactions

in

the

quarter

included

a

majority

growthinvestment

in

a

software

company

and

a

take-private

ofanIT

services

firm.

VBA

Software,

a

Milwaukee-based,

verticalSaaS

company

focused

on

healthcare,

took

a

majority

growthinvestment

from

Spectrum

Equity

and

Arthur

Ventures

inAugust.

The

company

received

a

sizable

$156

million

capitalinfusion

tosupport

its

growth,

valuing

the

company

at

$220platforms.

Also

in

July,

Fiserv

announced

it

would

sell

its1frontier

reconciliation

business

to

Trintech,

a

portfolio

companyofSummit

Partners,

for

$230.0

million.

With

this

acquisition,Trintech

will

further

expand

its

portfolio

ofcapabilities

byincorporating

two

reconciliation

solutions

and

broadening

themillion.

VBA

offers

a

cloud-based

benefits

administration3software

serving

the

entire

healthcare

payer

ecosystem.

Thesolution

improves

data

management

and

interoperability

tostreamline

administration

ofhealthcare

plans,

an

increasinglyimportant

value

proposition

as

the

healthcare

industry’s

rapidevolution

is

straining

outdated

legacy

systems.range

ofservices

it

offers

toclients.2TechnologyTechnology

deal

activity

shifted

downmarket

in

Q3

to

smallerdeals

relative

to

the

prior

quarter

and

recent

years.

IT’s

Q3deal

count

was

a

modest

1.1%

lower

than

Q2,

with

91

dealscompleted.

On

the

basis

ofdeal

value,

Q3

was

down

13.1%sequentially

with

$11.6

billion

ofactivity.

This

places

the

volumeofdeals

in

the

first

nine

months

of2023

at

a

total

of292,

down20.9%

YoY,

and

down

9.6%versus

the

2017

to

2019

nine-monthaverage.

Deal

value

declined

by

a

greater

magnitude

in

the

firstnine

months

of2023,

down

30.1%

YoY

and

down

20.8%

versusthe

average

from

2017

to

2019.

All

in

all,

technology

deals

withPE

buyers

are

shifting

downmarket

tomore

digestible

sizes.IT

gained

modestly

in

terms

ofmix

versus

other

sectors,

nowrefle