SOURCE: Highline Banking Data Services

Highline Banking Data Services Reports Mixed Results in Bank & Thrift Merger Activity During the Fourth Quarter

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 17 /Xpress Press/ -- Bank and thrift M&A activity for the fourth quarter stayed consistent with the activity throughout 2005. There were 73 transactions announced in the fourth quarter compared to 71, 69, and 51 transactions announced in the previous three quarters. The total purchase price decreased slightly from $9.7 billion in the third quarter to $8.8 billion in the fourth quarter. For all of 2005, total deal value was down significantly from $130 billion in 2004 to $71 billion in 2005.

For 2005, 264 transactions were announced with 8 transactions exceeding $1 billion in deal value. The largest transaction based on deal value for the year was Bank of America's acquisition of MBNA Corporation for approximately $36 billion. Other notable transactions were the $6.6 billion acquisition of Providian Financial Corporation by Washington Mutual, Inc., and the $5 billion acquisition of Hibernia Corporation by Capital One Financial.

Pricing multiples decreased slightly in the fourth quarter as compared to the third quarter with average price-to-book down to 226% from 235%. For all of 2005, the ratio was up from 210% in 2004 to 219% in 2005. On a price to earnings basis, deals for the quarter posted a median 24.1x, compared with 21.9x in the previous quarter and 23.8x a year ago.

About Highline Data

Highline Data, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Austin, Texas, is the industry leader in insurance and banking databases. Users evaluate not only the current financial health of these industries, but more importantly, their future performance. The data is also used to price investments and consider merger and acquisition candidates.

For more information, visit http://www.highlinedata.com or contact Reilly Cobb, Vice President and Managing Director, Highline Banking Data Services, at 617-441-5969 or fcobb@highlinedata.com.

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