Contact: Brenon Daly
Tech M&A spending continued its record pace in April, putting 2014 on track to top a half-trillion dollars worth of deals. Assuming the pace holds, this year would mark the highest level of spending on tech transactions since the Internet bubble burst a decade and a half ago.
For the just-completed month of April, tech acquirers around the world announced some 302 deals valued at $48bn, a stunning six-fold increase over the same month last year and more than three times the level of April 2012. Consolidation last month in the old-line telco and cable industries led the parade of blockbuster transactions, which included five acquisitions valued at more than $1bn.
The spending in April actually accelerated what has already been a record start to 2014. (See our full Q1 report.) Through the first four months of this year, tech M&A spending has soared to $178bn. To put that amount into perspective, consider this: January-April spending has already exceeded the full-year totals of every year except one since the recession ended in 2009. More dramatically, year-to-date spending has even eclipsed the previous record of $166bn for the first four months of the go-go year of 2006.
Further, dealmakers don’t really see a slowdown in the frenetic pace. As part of our semiannual Tech M&A Leaders’ Survey , done in part with Morrison & Foerster, we noted that activity is currently running at a record level and asked respondents for their outlook on the overall tech M&A market for the rest of 2014. Nearly one-third (31%) projected an increase in activity, 41% said the pace is likely to hold steady, and 28% predicted a decline.
With more than seven out of 10 respondents forecasting that the broad tech M&A market will hold – or even accelerate – its current unprecedented activity, the outlook for dealmaking is more bullish than it has been in years. 451 Research and Morrison & Forrester will be holding a complimentary webinar to discuss the survey, which also includes a number of key findings around deal structures and valuations. To join the webinar, which will be held next Tuesday, May 6 at 10:00am PST, simply register here.
Monthly deal flow, 2014
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Source: The 451 M&A KnowledgeBase
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