The global market for startup acquisitions is booming: Compared to the previous year, the number of exits worldwide increased by 42 percent. Europe is catching up with the United States.
According to a study, this year alone, 4,217 startups valued at $367 billion will be acquired by other companies. Just five years ago, the global acquisition market was worth only $58 billion, with 1,322 exits.
The organization Mind the Bridge, which is also behind the initiative Startup Europe comes to Silicon Valley The study was conducted in collaboration with the platform Crunchbase. A total of over 15,500 startup exits worldwide since 2010, with a total value of $1.3 trillion, were recorded.
USA and Europe determine market between themselves
Of the $367 billion, $220 billion went to American companies, corresponding to 60 percent of the global exit market. With $112 billion, 30.5 percent went to Europe. The rest of the world shared $35 billion, or 9.5 percent of the market. In 2016, the US secured 67 percent of the deal volume, Europe only 20.5 percent, and the rest of the world 12.5 percent. Dr. Thomas Schmid from the international law firm Orrick, which supports the study, says:
"In terms of the value, speed of development, and strength of European startups, this is an important sign—even if the gap with the US is still large. Now is the best time for American investors to look toward Europe and back the right horses."
Germany leads the way in exits, Munich in European top ten
A clear difference can be seen in the size of the deals: While the average price for an exit from a European startup is $46 million, the price in the USA is more than twice as high at $100 million.
In the country rankings, Germany ranks third behind the US and the UK in terms of the number of acquired startups. In terms of the nationality of the acquiring company, Germany ranks fourth after the US, the UK, and France. Munich ranks seventh in Europe in terms of the number of startup acquisitions—both in terms of the acquired startups and the acquiring companies.
