Let’s do two

Through the first six weeks of the year, tech acquirers have already announced more than 500 transactions, putting 2012 so far ahead of three of the previous four years in terms of the pace of M&A. If the current rate holds for the remainder of 2012 – granted, a big assumption in the lumpy, bumpy world of acquisitions – the total for the year would top 4,000 transactions for the first time since 2006.

We had an early indication that activity in 2012 could well pick up thanks to our December survey of corporate development executives. A key finding of our annual survey was that the percentage of corporate buyers who projected that they would be accelerating their M&A programs this year was four times higher than the level that expected to slow their shopping.

One reason why the number of tech transactions is running along at a robust clip so far in 2012 is the fact that an unprecedented number of companies are announcing ‘doubleheader deals.’ Just in February, seven companies have announced two acquisitions in the same day. Granted, most of these are small transactions, and the releases probably have more to do with marketing than strategy. But it’s nonetheless a new trend that’s adding to the deal flow in 2012.