Strong Q2 M&A Climate Expected to Continue Through 2014

Corporate merger and acquisition deals in the tech sector are expected to continue to grow during the second half of 2014, following a thriving second quarter, according to a report from PwC. More deals in the Internet, IT services, hardware, semiconductor and software services sectors occurred in the second quarter, compared with the same period last year. This led to greater second-quarter transaction value in every tracked tech sector, except the Internet. The report compared and contrasted the second quarters of 2013 and 2014 and this year's first and second quarters, while also summing up the second quarter of this year in the following manner: "Extending the positive momentum from the second half of 2013, equity markets set new highs, IPO markets reached activity levels not seen in years, VC [venture capital] investments harkened back to 2000 levels, and economic outlooks remained mostly optimistic across sectors." PwC based its findings upon transactions data for disclosed deals with greater than $15 million in transaction value. Here are key takeaways from the study. (Channel Insider contributor Maggie O'Neill provided additional reporting.)