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Healthcare Services | First Quarter 2015

May 2015 – The first quarter of 2015 set a new record in terms of transaction volume, with 355 healthcare M&A transactions announced, up 25% compared with the same quarter a year ago and surpassing all other first quarters on record, according to preliminary figures from Irving Levin Associates. Inc. Deal value in Q1 2015 reached $104.9 billion, 109% greater than the Q1 2014 total of $50.1 billion. Healthcare Services represented 57% (203 deals) of the quarter’s transactions, slightly lower than the previous quarter’s 60%.

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Industrial Growth | First Quarter 2015

May 2015 – Through Q1 2015, the industrial sector continues to experience weak performance across several indices, including (i) the PMI Manufacturing Index, which slipped to a new 16-month low; (ii) Industrial Production fell for the fifth straight month; (iii) Capacity Utilization, which is a measure of factory production, dropped to its lowest level in nearly 15 months; and (iv) Producer Price Index was -1.3%, representing the fourth consecutive month with a negative growth rate.

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Capital Restructuring | Fourth Quarter 2014

February 2015 – Continuing a trend seen over the past few years, and unlike the bankruptcy cycles of (1) 2000-2003 and (2) 2008-2009, which were clearly dominated by certain sectors (telecom/technology and financial services, respectively), 2014’s Chapter 11 activity covered a wide range of industries including healthcare, oil & gas, retail and telecommunications. According to Moody’s and S&P, default rates finished the fourth quarter at 1.9% and 1.5%, respectively. Moody’s expects the default rate to rise to 2.8% in 2015, while S&P is projecting the U.S. corporate 12-month speculative-grade default rate to rise to 2.4% by September 30, 2015.

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Industrial Growth | Fourth Quarter 2014

February 2015 – Consistent with results for Q3 2014, the industrial sector continues to lag broader market indices due to cyclical demand and softening global economic indicators. A review of year-end economic reports suggests some cracks in a U.S. economy that had reported a strong prior quarter. Specifically, Real GDP of +2.6%, while positive disappointed the market as many had expected +3% growth coming off the very strong +5.0% in Q3. This deceleration was predominantly led by growth in imports, drops in federal spending and slowing in nonresidential investment.

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Healthcare Services | Fourth Quarter 2014

February 2015 – With more than $386.7 billion and 1,256 deals, 2014 healthcare M&A volume was the largest in this century, according to preliminary figures from Irving Levin Associates, Inc. The combination of robust levels of private equity (over $1.2 trillion dollars committed to private equity funds as of Q4 2014, according to Preqin) and favorable credit markets helped spur deal activity during the year. For global institutions, the favorable corporate tax rates for companies domiciled overseas accelerated transaction volume.

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Business Services | Fourth Quarter 2014

February 2015 – After underperforming for much of 2014, the SCA Business Services Index outperformed the broader markets in Q4 2014, increasing by over 11.2 % compared to an increase of 5.8% for the S&P 500. Virtually all subsectors of the SCA Business Services Index outperformed the broader market as a result of consensus predictions of enhanced economic growth in the U.S. during 2015. In particular, the SCA Marketing Services sector (+29.6%), the SCA IT Consulting sector (+16.9%), and the SCA Professional Staffing sector (+11.6%) recorded significant growth.

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