Lower Middle Market Weekly Outlook

The IPO market has come full circle. After fluctuating between hot and not over the past 6 months, public floatations have become popular again, with last week being the best IPO week since 2006. Private equity IPOs reached their highest ever level.

Despite the record week, Marc Andreessen believes the IPO is dying. He explains that, compared to twenty years ago, companies are waiting much longer to go public. Due to regulatory burdens and investor savviness (“warring long and shorts”), an IPO can be fatally onerous for smaller companies.

In other news, global M&A is at a 7-year high.

• CIT acquires Direct Capital
• Standex acquires Ultrafryer Systems
• WhiteGlove Health acquires Glenridge HealthCare Solutions
• Silver Oak recaps Construction Labor Contractors
• ARC Group announces acquisition of Kecy Corporation
• Endo to acquire DAVA Pharmaceuticals
• Apposite Capital sells Ulthera to Merz
• Riverside Company exits Thibaut
• Huron Capital forms Spring & Sprout
• Hatchette Books to buy Perseus Books
• Velocys acquires Pinto Energy
• Diebold acquires Cryptera
• Hanes to buy DBApparel

• Barbecues galore — happy 4th of July!

• The ‘buy and build’ strategy: Spotlight on a modern day private equity trend
• A wave of M&A among cable, telecom suppliers may be on the horizon
• Buyout firms graduate from debt-fuelled returns
• Texas comes out on top of private equity investments
• Why mega-mergers may not be all bad
• A private equity pioneer thrives in the shadows
• US PE investment up 27% in 2013
• 6 questions to determine if a potential investors is the right investor
• To understand VCs, founders should meet their LPs