Having established that 1997 has set a new record for US merger and acquisition activity (CI No 3,319) figures out this week show it to have been a record year in the technology sector too. Global mergers and acquisitions between technology companies rose 25% last year, achieving 4,040 transactions valued at $242.8bn according to investment bankers Broadview Associates. This compares to an increase in 1996 of 21% over the prior year. Broadview puts the increase down to a reluctance to take the public stock offering route, with companies preferring to be purchased outright. Once again Microsoft Corp looms large in the statistics, dominating the software sector with ten acquisitions last year.
