Financial Information

• Total Transaction Size: $2.6 Billion
• Implied Enterprise Value: $2.5 Billion
• EV/LTM Revenue: 6.4x
• EV/LTM EBITDA: 24.8x

Transaction Facts

• Financial services firm SS&C Technologies (Nasdaq:SSNC) entered into an agreement earlier this week to acquire Advent Software (Nasdaq:ADVS), a financial services software provider focused on portfolio management.
• Rumors of the deal first appeared last week on Jan. 28, and since then both stocks have increased significantly – SS&C is up 11 percent while Advent is up 6 percent.
• The deal is SS&C’s largest acquisition on record, topping an $814 million acquisition of GlobeOp Financial Services SA in 2012. The combined company will have revenues of approximately $1.2 billion and a customer base of more than 10,000.

Financial Services Heats Up

• Affordable Debt Makes Big Acquisitions Appealing: SS&C will fund the acquisition and refinance some of the two companies’ existing debt with $3 billion in debt financing and cash on hand, as well as issuing $400 million in equity. This strategy is made compelling by today’s continued low interest rate climate, which makes large acquisitions less expensive than they have been in the past.
• Bet on Continued Outsourcing: The transaction is based on the expectation that global financial services companies will continue to look to outsourced solutions to manage their products and services. Advent’s software is used by 4,300 investment fund managers, ranging from large hedge funds to family offices.
• Strong Demand in an Active Space: Financial technology has been an active sector for M&A, with deal volume well over $25 billion in the last year. Expect more similar deals in 2015 as customers increase credit card usage and financial services firms seek to modernize their technology offerings.