Contact: Brenon Daly
Despite a slow start to 2017, tech M&A activity is expected to accelerate over the course of the year, according to the prevailing view in the semiannual M&A Leaders’ Survey from 451 Research and Morrison & Foerster. (See full report.) Slightly more than half of the respondents (52%) forecast that deal flow will top last year’s level, more than three times the 15% of respondents who indicated that year-over-year activity would decline in 2017. The projection in our just-completed survey represents the most-bullish outlook in two years.
If the sentiment does come through in increased activity for the rest of the year, it would also mark a dramatic reversal from the start of 2017. In the first quarter, tech acquirers announced 12% fewer transactions than they did in Q1 2016 or Q1 2015, according to 451 Research’s M&A KnowledgeBase. Of course, 2017 comes after the two highest years of tech M&A spending since the internet bubble burst. Collectively, acquirers in 2015 and 2016 announced deals valued at more than $1 trillion, according to the M&A KnowledgeBase.
451 Research subscribers can view the full report on the most-recent M&A Leaders’ Survey from 451 Research and Morrison & Foerster, which includes the outlook for overall activity and valuations in the tech M&A market, as well as highlights specific trends and drivers for deals in 2017 and beyond.
