Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor Forecasts Continued Strength in Global M&A through 1H 2015

NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Intralinks® Holdings, Inc. IL, a leading, global SaaS provider of content management and collaboration solutions, announced today the release of the Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor (DFP), a unique indicator of future mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. Intralinks also revealed the findings from its Global Sentiment Survey that gauged opinions among M&A professionals on the future deal environment. The combined results provide exclusive insights into global M&A deal volumes and market trends through Q2 2015.

The Intralinks DFP forecasts changes in the volume of global M&A deals expected to be announced in the next six months. The Q2 2015 DFP shows a one percent quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase and a 12 percent year-over-year (YoY) increase in early-stage global M&A activity, with particularly strong performances in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and North America. Taken together with the results of the previous DFP released on October 20, 2014, the latest Intralinks DFP points to continued strong growth in global M&A activity through the first half of 2015, although there are some significant regional variations.

"2014 saw a return to significant growth for global M&A markets, for the first time since 2010, both in terms of deal volume and value," said Matt Porzio, vice president of M&A strategy and product marketing at Intralinks. "Global announced deal volumes in 2014 have increased by 12.5 percent compared to 2013. This is above of our prediction made six months ago that there would be a 7 to 11 percent YoY increase in 2014."

Deal value in 2014 was up even more, by 45 percent, driven by a sharp increase in the number of larger transactions, with the number of announced deals over $5 billion in value having more than doubled to 80 in 2014. The total value of announced deals in 2014 was $3.5 trillion, the highest level since the last peak in the M&A market in 2007.

Intralinks DFP Highlights - Outlook for Q2 2015
The Intralinks DFP tracks early-stage M&A deals (sell-side M&A transactions that are in the preparation stage or that have reached the due diligence stage) across the world, on average six months prior to their public announcement. Intralinks is the leading global provider of virtual data rooms. Its involvement in the early stages of a significant percentage of the world's M&A transactions gives the company a distinctive view into the expected volume of future M&A deal announcements. The Intralinks DFP has been independently verified as an accurate predictor of future changes in the number of announced global M&A transactions, with QoQ percentage changes in the Intralinks DFP typically being reflected on average six months later in announced deal volumes, as reported by Thomson Reuters.

"Based on the activity reported in this DFP report, the volume of global announced M&A in 1H 2015 will be significantly above that of 1H 2014," added Porzio. "The mid-point of our forecast is for 12 percent growth YoY, with a range of between 9 and 15 percent. While we expect that mega deals (those over $5 billion) will continue to dominate the headlines, we believe that the number of mega deals announced in 2015 will be fewer than in 2014, while mid-market M&A will remain strong and financial sponsor activity will increase."

Highlights from the latest Intralinks DFP include:

North America
North American early-stage M&A activity is up 10 percent YoY and less than one percent QoQ, supported by continued strength in the economy, low interest rates, and pressure on corporates to generate growth in a low inflation environment.

EMEA
Europe continues to perform strongly and consistently. Early-stage M&A activity is up 18 percent YoY and seven percent QoQ. Stable, "safe-haven" countries such as Germany continue to be a major driver of M&A activity in the region. The rebound in activity in economies with strong recovery potential, such as France, Italy and Spain, continues.

Latin America
The deal-making environment in Latin America is still weak. The DFP shows a 17 percent decline in early-stage M&A activity YoY and a nine percent QoQ decline. Brazil and Mexico, the region's largest and second largest economies, are being negatively affected by sharp drops in prices for key exports such as oil and iron ore, as the commodity price super cycle which was fueled by Chinese industrialization comes to an end.

Asia Pacific
Early-stage M&A activity in Asia Pacific remains varied, with a 17 percent increase YoY and six percent decrease QoQ. Across the region, only Japan saw a decline YoY. We are also seeing strong levels of activity in Southeast Asia, Australia and South Korea.

Global Sentiment Survey
In December 2014, Intralinks conducted a survey of 770 global M&A professionals to gauge dealmakers' sentiments and views on the M&A market. The survey's results show that dealmakers remain positive, although their optimism has waned slightly from the previous quarter. Dealmakers reported that they expect energy and power and technology to be the two most active sectors over the next six months and still see deal valuation as the most difficult part of M&A transactions.

Highlights of the survey results include:

• 55 percent of M&A professionals are optimistic about the deal environment in the next six months, compared to 60 percent the previous quarter
• 64 percent expect deals volumes to increase over the next six months, compared to 69 percent the previous quarter
• 60 percent think that the significant increase in the number of mega deals that have been announced in 2014 is a useful indicator of the health of the broader M&A market
• 43 percent said the biggest barrier to getting an M&A deal completed is being able to locate a suitable buyer

About Intralinks Dealspace®
Intralinks is a leading supplier of solutions for managing strategic transactions. Intralinks Dealspace, the market leading virtual data room (VDR), gives M&A professionals a complete solution to manage the full lifecycle of a deal. Intralinks Dealspace supports every step of the deal process, enabling deal teams to securely exchange data with buyers, sellers and advisors, helping speed strategic transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, capital raises and corporate restructurings.

About the Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor
The Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor provides Intralinks' perspective on the level of M&A due diligence activity taking place during any given period of time. The statistics contained in the Intralinks DFP represent the volume of VDRs opened, or proposed to be opened, through Intralinks or other providers for the purpose of conducting due diligence on proposed transactions including asset sales, divestitures, private placements, financings, capital raises, joint ventures and partnerships. These statistics are not adjusted for changes in Intralinks' share of the VDR market or changes in market demand for VDR services. These statistics may not correlate to the volume of completed transactions that may be reported by market data providers and should not be construed to represent the volume of transactions that will ultimately be consummated during any period of time. Indications of future completed deal activity derived from the DFP are based on assumed rates of deals going from due diligence stage to completion. In addition, the statistics reported by market data providers may be compiled with a different set of transaction types than those set forth above.

For more information about the Intralinks DFP, please visit our website.

THIS PRESS RELEASE AND THE INTRALINKS DFP (COLLECTIVELY THE "MATERIALS") ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. INTRALINKS MAKES NO GUARANTEE, REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND REGARDING THE TIMELINESS, ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT OF THE MATERIALS. THESE MATERIALS ARE BASED ON INTRALINKS' OBSERVATIONS AND SUBJECTIVE INTERPRETATIONS OF DUE DILIGENCE ACTIVITY TAKING PLACE, OR PROPOSED TO TAKE PLACE, ON INTRALINKS' OR OTHER PROVIDERS' VDR PLATFORMS FOR A LIMITED SET OF TRANSACTION TYPES. THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE AN INDICATOR OF INTRALINKS' BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OR OPERATING RESULTS FOR ANY PRIOR, CURRENT OR FUTURE PERIOD, NOR ARE THESE MATERIALS INTENDED TO PROMISE, GUARANTEE OR ASSURE FUTURE LEVELS OF COMPLETED DEAL ACTIVITY. THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT INTENDED TO CONVEY INVESTMENT ADVICE OR SOLICIT INVESTMENTS OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER.

THE INTRALINKS DFP MAY BE USED SOLELY FOR PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE. THE CONTENTS OF THE INTRALINKS DFP MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED OR PUBLISHED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF INTRALINKS. FOR PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH INTRALINKS DFP CONTENT, PLEASE CONTACT info@intralinks.com.

Forward Looking Statements
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are express or implied statements that are not based on historical information and include, among other things, statements concerning Intralinks' plans, intentions, expectations, projections, hopes, beliefs, objectives, goals, and strategies. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the results or commitments expressed, projected, or implied by any forward-looking statements will be achieved, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date hereof. As such, Intralinks undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For a detailed list of the factors and risks that could affect Intralinks' financial results, please refer to Intralinks public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year-ended December 31, 2013 and subsequent quarterly reports. Intralinks undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.

Trademarks and Copyright
"Intralinks", the Intralinks' stylized logo, and "Intralinks Dealspace" are the registered trademarks of Intralinks, Inc. © 2015 Intralinks, Inc.

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SOURCE Intralinks Holdings, Inc.