Utah’s breaks financial transaction value record for second year in a row
Utah’s financial market transactions reached a record-high value for the second year in a row in 2021, according to MountainWest Capital Network’s (MWCN) annual Deal Flow Report, released recently. Now in its 27th year, MWCN’s Deal Flow Report reports and analyzes the state’s equity-related financial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, public deals and private placements.
Financial transactions in Utah showed significant recovery from the impacts of the COVID pan-demic in 2021, with MWCN tracking 435 deals throughout the year — a sharp rise from 289 in 2020 and more in line with 474 in 2019. The total value of deals in the state exceeded $30 billion for the first time, reaching $31.2 billion. This was a significant jump from the previous record of $26.4 billion in 2020 and $25.1 billion in 2019.
Utah’s track record of top GDP growth and high national rankings for favorable business climate continues to attract high-tech jobs as they shift away from coastal cities to more affordable inland cities, according to MWCN. The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities 2022 report named Provo–Orem as the top large city in the U.S. and Logan as the top small city in the U.S. based on levels of employment, wage and high-tech GDP growth.
“Companies are looking for great places to do business and Utah has been at the top of everyone’s lists for years,” said Kady Reese, MWCN’s Deal Flow chair. “That consistency as an ideal climate for running a business with an educated, high-tech workforce continues to benefit the state and helps our financial markets keep growing.”
Technology and enterprise/SaaS software once again drove the highest number of investments in Utah during 2021, making up 41 percent of deals. Consumer and retail/e-commerce has grown substantially in recent years and represents 31 percent of total transactions in this year’s report. Healthcare was third with 14 percent of Utah’s investment interest.
Utah’s largest disclosed deal value for 2021 was the $3.5 billion Pluralsight acquisition, with Divvy and PCF Insurance Services also exceeding $2 billion. Public issuances in 2021 doubled year-over-year from 2020 and included a number of special-purpose acquisition companies. The largest public issuances included Black Rifle Co. Company at $1.7 billion, Qualtrics at $1.55 billion and Owlet Baby Care at $1.4 billion.
MountainWest Capital Network is a nonprofit organization, created to foster a flow of information about capital formation and distribution. It does not report on transactions that were either confidential or otherwise not publicly disclosed. The full 2021 MWCN Deal Flow Report can be viewed at https://www.mwcn.org/deal-flow/.