High Debt Levels Push Deal Multiples To Historic High

PE deals for U.S.-based companies are commanding an 11.5x multiple throughout the first half of 2014, well above the 10.4x clocked in 2013, notes PitchBook Data Inc. from Goldman Sachs (H/T ZeroHedge) PitchBook along with Merrill Datasite published a report titled “3Q 2014-U.S. PE Breakdown” highlighting that though PE deal flow dropped in 2Q 2014, the capital invested was strong. Deal multiples at historic high with debt financing According to the report, armed with cheap debt financing, PE firms have been pushing purchase price multiples beyond what many strategic acquirers are willing to pay. The report points out that to…