IntraLinks Deal Flow Indicator Shows 22 Percent Year-over-Year Increase in Global M&A Activity

NEW YORK, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

1.5 Percent Sequential Growth from Q3 to Q4 2011 and Increase in Deal Volumes Show Steadying of Market Despite Volatility

For the fourth quarter of 2011, the IntraLinks Deal Flow Indicator ("DFI"), which provides an early view of current deal flow activity and trends in the global market prior to public announcement, observed a 22 percent increase in global merger and acquisition (M&A) deal activity compared to Q4 2010. Year-over-year growth across all regions showed positive trends from Q4 2010 to Q4 2011, with the strongest growth in Latin America (33 percent) and similarly positive trends in North America (29 percent). Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) (16 percent) and Asia Pacific (APAC) (7 percent) also posted modest increases.  Additionally, annual deal volume in 2011 was up 20 percent over 2010 deal volumes.

Despite this overall rise in deal activity year-over-year, however, the IntraLinks Deal Flow Indicator found that quarter-to-quarter M&A deal activity was modest overall, with a 1.5 percent increase globally from Q3 2011 to Q4 2011. Sequential results also varied regionally, with Latin American deal flow activity remaining flat from Q3 2011 to Q4 2011, EMEA deal flow activity increasing 1 percent in the same time period, and APAC activity decreasing 19 percent in Q4 2011 after a significant uptick in Q3 2011. North American deal flow activity posted the largest quarter-to-quarter growth, however, with a 7.5 percent increase from Q3 2011 to Q4 2011.

"The results from the latest DFI, which include deals still in due diligence, are consistent with emerging trends being reported in the marketplace-particularly that mature markets steadied but still show some volatility," said Matt Porzio, vice president, M&A product marketing, IntraLinks.  "While in previous quarters this year, the results of the DFI indicated that investors sought out opportunities in emerging markets such as Latin America, as sponsors and strategic buyers continue to be flush with cash and need to put it in play, we have seen a recovery in deal activity across North America from a dip in Q3 to the final quarter of this year."

IntraLinks' Deal Flow Indicator results are based on the company's involvement in a significant percentage of M&A deals in the early stages of each transaction, providing an early perspective on global deal activity. IntraLinks has been a global provider of M&A virtual data rooms for more than 10 years, providing a cloud-based platform that accelerates deals from the beginning to the end of the process. In today's economy, the ability to conduct due diligence on opportunities around the world and execute on deals that achieve value requires a concentrated strategy.

The IntraLinks Deal Flow Indicator is calculated using the total volume of IntraLinks exchanges that were proposed for use by deal teams initiating projects during the previous quarter. The totals are then analyzed by global regions and compared to previous time periods. This report is based on observations and subjective interpretations of M&A deal activity and is not intended to be an indicator of IntraLinks' business performance or operating results for any prior or future period. You can access full results from the Q4 2011 IntraLinks Deal Flow Indicator at http://www.intralinks.com/knowledge/intralinks-deal-flow-indicator.

About IntraLinks

IntraLinks is a leading global provider of Software-as-a-Service solutions for securely managing content, exchanging critical business information and collaborating within and among organizations. More than one million professionals in industries including financial services, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer, energy, industrial, legal, insurance, real estate and technology, as well as government agencies, have utilized IntraLinks' easy-to-use, cloud-based solutions. IntraLinks users can accelerate information-intensive business processes and workflows, meet regulatory and risk management requirements and collaborate with customers, partners and counterparties in a secure, auditable and compliant manner. Professionals at more than 800 of the Fortune 1000 companies have used IntraLinks' solutions. For more information, visit http://www.intralinks.com or http://blog.intralinks.com. You can also follow IntraLinks on Twitter at http://twitter.com/intralinks and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/IntraLinks.