Technology M&As experience biggest rise in a decade

Technology mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity has seen the biggest quarterly increase in over 10 years during the third quarter of 2009, according to a report from corporate finance firm Icon.

The rise of 20 percent in developed markets, which has seen the sale of businesses such as Skype and digital agency Razorfish, is due to low interest rates and regained confidence in the investment community, says the report.

According to the study, deal valuations in the technology sector were up nearly 30 percent over the period, helped by mega deals valued at over US$1bn ($1.09bn)), and more businesses are planning initial public offerings (IPOs) for 2010, which should bring a further boost to the market.

According to the report, “confidence is continuing to rebuild” and the sector recovery is being led by large deals from giants such as Oracle, Dell, EMC, Adobe, IBM and Amazon, all of whom have made significant acquisitions recently.