Contact: Brenon Daly
Lifted by three deals each valued at more than $1bn, tech M&A spending in November jumped 63% to $11.4bn. That marks the second consecutive month where spending increased, year-over-year, and only the fourth month that has been the case in 2012.
With just one month to go in the year, overall spending in 2012 is almost certain to come in lower than each of the past two years. So far this year, the aggregate value of transactions is about 20% lower than the first 11 months of last year and 7% lower than the same period in 2010.
In November, a trio of significant deals – each representing distinctly different strategies – contributed to the year-over-year increase in spending. (Although we should note, on an absolute basis, the November total came in lower than the average spending of about $15bn in the preceding 10 months of 2012.)
The largest transaction of the month, RedPrairie’s $2bn take-private of JDA Software Group, was an old-fashioned consolidation move. Meanwhile, Priceline.com’s $1.8bn reach for Kayak.com represented a platform expansion, while Cisco Systems made a pricey cloud play with its $1.2bn purchase of Meraki.
2012 monthly activity
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Source: The 451 M&A KnowledgeBase