Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP recently conducted our fifth annual survey of sponsor-backed going private transactions. Weil surveyed 60 sponsor-backed going private transactions announced from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010 with a transaction value (i.e., enterprise value) of at least $100 million (excluding target companies that were real estate investment trusts).

Thirty-nine of the surveyed transactions in 2010 involved a target company in the United States, thirteen involved a target company in Europe and eight involved a target company in Asia-Pacific. The publicly available information for certain surveyed transactions did not disclose all data points covered by our survey; therefore, the charts and graphs in this survey may not reflect information from all surveyed transactions.

With a significant rebound in the availability of debt financing for new acquisitions, 2010 was a strong year for sponsor-backed going private transactions in the United States. Thirty-nine sponsor-backed going private transactions in the United States were announced over the course of 2010.

(more…)