Mergers and acquisitions
Industry Overview
In the tech industry, there were 277 M&A deals in 2014 worth a total of nearly $161.4 billion, up from 204 deals worth just under $100 billion in 2013.
Industry Sectors: Internet
There were 76 deals worth just over $49.7 billion in 2014 in the Internet sector, up from 30 deals the year before worth about $9.7 billion.
Industry Sectors: Software
There were 84 M&A deals worth more than $42.3 billion last year in the software sector, up from 71 deals worth nearly $23.4 billion in 2013.
Industry Sectors: Hardware and Networking
There were 52 deals worth an estimated $36.3 billion in 2014 in the hardware and networking sector, compared to 36 deals the year before worth just under $47.6 billion.
Industry Sectors: Semiconductor
There were 28 deals worth nearly $17.4 billion in 2014 in the semiconductor sector, compared with 33 deals the year before worth just over $10.7 billion.
Industry Sectors: IT Services
There were 37 deals worth nearly $15.7 billion last year in the IT services sector, up from 34 deals in 2013 worth an estimated $7.9 billion.
Top Five Deals of 2014: WhatsApp
Facebook’s acquisition of messaging application WhatsApp closed Oct. 5, 2014. The deal was valued at $22 billion.
Top Five Deals of 2014: Concur Technologies
SAP completed the acquisition of expenses software specialist Concur on Dec. 4, 2014. The deal was valued at $9.1 billion.
Top Five Deals of 2014: Nokia Devices and Services Business Unit
Microsoft closed on the acquisition of Nokia’s Devices and Services Business Unit on April 25, 2014. The acquisition of the mobile devices business was valued at $7.2 billion.
Top Five Deals of 2014: LSI Corp.
Avago Technologies closed on its acquisition of semiconductor vendor LSI. The deal was valued at $6.6 billion.
Top Five Deals of 2014: MICROS Systems
Oracle closed the deal to buy MICROS Systems, a vendor of integrated software and services for the retail and hospitality industry, on Sept. 8, 2014. The deal was valued at $5.3 billion.