As highlighted in our H2 2020 Intrepid Insights & Data Analytics M&A Report, transaction activity continued to be robust across the Insights & Data Analytics sector in the second half of 2020, even as market research budgets saw a continued decline due to COVID-19 and the subsequent social restrictions. The market research industry has always had an important role in shaping society, but 2020 proved that striking the right balance between technology, trusted data sources, and human instinct has never been more important.
The second half of the year saw healthy M&A activity from private equity-backed Insights & Data Analytics platforms as private equity firms felt pressure to create differentiated value from impatient investors. Align Capital Partners’ portfolio company, E Source, made its 4th and 5th acquisitions. HGGC and Court Square Capital’s Dynata announced two add-ons. The second half of 2020 also saw strategic acquirer activity from S&P Global, Verisk, Nielsen, The NPD Group, J.D. Power, Dun & Bradstreet, Leger, YouGov, Medallia, S4 Capital and others. Consulting firms such as Deloitte and Accenture continued to blur the boundary between data scientists and consultants by making data and analytics related acquisitions. At the same time, non-traditional buyers like Cisco entered the fray. 
Barring unexpected developments related to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, Intrepid expects to see the Insights & Data Analytics M&A momentum continue in 2021 as markets recover and companies and funds assess the landscape for deal opportunities on the sell-side and buy-side. We anticipate that the extraordinary acceleration in the adoption of technology-led research will continue to create buying and selling opportunities.
We look forward to continuing to share our insights with you and providing additional color on these trends. We hope that this report serves as a useful tool for you. Please feel free to call us at (310) 478-9000 for additional insight as you evaluate opportunities.