Users of the 2018 Mergerstat Review will be happy to see that four new tables focus on premiums paid over the targets’ enterprise values. As in previous editions, transaction premiums feature the premium paid for the targets’ share prices five days prior to the announcement, but this new update enhances the data. Mergerstat Review provides complete statistics on merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions that involve U.S. companies, and the 2018 edition includes other changes that improve the data:

• Historical updates were completed to 20 years of M&A data, including aggregate volume and value totals, as well as the respective pricing multiples associated with the year’s data;
• The 50-category Mergerstat industry classifications have been retired in favor of its 20-category industry sectors;
• Foreign seller ownership roles are more clearly defined; and
• Deal pricing has been changed from base equity price to transaction value.

The Mergerstat Review PDF is available now, and the print version will be available in mid-May.