Q3 2020 saw North American M&A volume of 2,714 transactions and total deal value of $361.1 billion.
Within the industrial sector, there were 178 transactions in Q3 2020, compared to 223 transactions in Q3 2019, representing a 20% decrease from last year. The sector is on pace for 765 total transactions in 2020 compared to last year’s total of 1,028—a substantial decrease of 27% largely due to effects of COVID-19.
Public Company Performance
Public company EV/EBITDA multiples continue to increase with an average industrial multiple of 12.5x in Q3 2020 compared to an average multiple of 11.5x in Q2 2020. The average EV/EBITDA multiple in Q3 2019 was 11.8x.
After Q3 2020, four out of six industrial sub-sectors have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past five years. The two sub-sectors that returned below the S&P 500 are Plastic & Packaging and Aerospace & Defense.
