More Skyscanner, Arm and LinkedIn deals are on the way, say tech dealmakers
Flight-booking website Skyscanner, chip designer Arm Holdings and professional social media site LinkedIn have been among the high-profile technology takeover targets of 2016.
And we should expect to see plenty more next year, according to a survey by law firm Morrison & Foerster (which, in a rather hip-hop fashion, shortens its name to MoFo).
Half of dealmakers (47 per cent) expect tech mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity to increase during the next six months, compared with 20 per cent forecasting a decrease.
Read more: What Skyscanner's biggest shareholder had to say about its £1.4bn sale
Tech, media and telecom (TMT) M&A activity in 2016, according to 451 Research:
- Q1: 1,039 deals worth $73bn
- Q2: 1,043 deals worth $110bn
- Q3: 910 deals worth $153bn
“An increasing number of companies have stepped up their blockbuster deal activity as 2016 has progressed,” said Robert Townsend, co-chair of MoFo’s global M&A practice group. “As a result, tech M&A spending is on track for the second-highest annual total since the most recent recession falling only short of the high bar that was set last year.”
Read more: Microsoft buying LinkedIn: Tech businesses must not get carried away
It is encouraging that so many of our survey respondents expect even greater deal activity over the next six months. However, it is also important to note that although almost half of dealmakers shared that the current M&A cycle is still only its mid-point, another 39 percent think it is close to the end of the cycle.