Will Tech M&A Deals See Continued Growth in 2016?

Last year's robust growth in technology mergers and acquisitions will be hard to top, separate reports from two consulting firms conclude. A recent study from EY concludes that, with most IT industry execs anticipating stable or modest economic growth for the year ahead, the outlook is dimming for growth in M&A deals. However, new research from PwC suggests that despite a dip in the first quarter, the outlook for tech M&A transactions for the year remains promising. "While we don't foresee a repeat of 2015's record-breaking pace, 2016 will still deliver a very active year for technology M&As," the PwC report read. In the first quarter, IT services deals continued to surge, according to PwC. The EY study finds that most tech companies have at least two deals currently in the works, but corporate leaders feel less optimistic about prospects for closing deals. According to EY, the vast majority of IT executives are ready to walk away from deals that don’t stand up to scrutiny. To maintain competitive edge, many are planning alliances/partnerships with other companies, seeking to create greater value from underutilized assets. Channel Insider looks at key findings from the two studies.