- October 7, 2024
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The mergers and acquisition market in Florida had a down year in 2012 in several respects, yet it remains a national leader.
There were 452 merger deals with disclosed locations in the Sunshine State last year, down 15.5% from 535 acquisitions in 2011, according to a report from Tampa-based Hyde Park Capital Advisors. The total amount of statewide deals, including ones where the companies' locations weren't disclosed, dropped 11%, from 583 in 2011 to 517 in 2012.
Yet those 517 deals put Florida in fourth place nationwide for total mergers and acquisitions. The state ranks behind New York, with 608 deals, and Texas, which had 919 deals in 2012. California tops the list with 1,264 total mergers and acquisitions.
The dollar value of deals in Florida also dropped significantly last year. For example, there were 64 acquisitions each worth $100 million or less in 2012, down 15% from 75 such deals in 2011. The dollar volume in that category year over year decreased 13%, from $2.3 billion in 2011 to $2.1 billion last year.
The falloff in the $100 million to $499 million category was even more acute, Hyde Park Capital reports. That segment dropped 29% in total volume, from 24 deals in 2011 to 17 last year, and 47% in total value, from $6.1 billion to $3.3 billion. The $500 million to $999 million category saw a slight increase, at least, from three deals in 2011 to five deals in 2012. The total value nearly doubled, from $2.1 billion in 2011 to $4 billion in 2012.
The Gulf Coast, meanwhile, is the second-biggest rainmaker region in the state, behind the Miami-South Florida area.
The acquisition of Clearwater-based Lincare Holdings Inc., a $1.8 billion in-home oxygen and respiratory services firm, stands out in the local big-deal category. The Linde Group, a German health care conglomerate, bought Lincare for $4.3 billion July 1.
Other local companies acquired in 2012 include Tampa-based SRI Surgical Express, Tampa-based Numara Software and Lakewood Ranch Oncology Center. Fort Myers-based Radiation Therapy Services Holdings bought Lakewood Ranch Oncology Center, in east Manatee County, in a deal worth $26 million in April, the report shows.
