The free Q4 2020 Argos Index, released last week, shows that private equity acquisition prices in the eurozone soared to a new record, confirming an overheated rebound to what now appears to be a business value “blip” caused by COVID-19. The Argos Index measures private midmarket-company valuations.
What did private equity pay unlisted European SMEs during the fourth quarter? Deal volumes dropped, but the new record multiple climbed to 11.1x EBITDA.
Conducted since 2006 by Epsilon Research for Argos Soditic, the index is calculated based on the information contained in the Epsilon Multiple Analysis Tool (EMAT), the database of European acquisition multiples and deal analysis reports (€1 million-to-€500 million deal value). The EMAT transaction multiples database includes:
- Epsilon studies on the European private-company M&A market, including the Argos Index;
- Alerts on the publication of EMAT reports on your sectors of activity; and
- Set up your dashboard to centralise your M&A info: market, news, etc.