Tech M&A Spending Increases 17% in 2011 as Number of Transactions Hits a Five-Year High

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Led by multibillion-dollar strategic deals from Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ) Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), SAP (NYSE:SAP), Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) and others, technology acquirers increased M&A spending for the second year in a row in 2012. Acquirers spent $219bn to purchase 3,690 information technology, telecommunications and Internet companies around the world last year, a 17% increase in spending and a 13% increase in number of deals from 2010. The total deal count hit its highest level since 2006, as M&A activity continues to dig out from its downturn in the recession of 2008-2009. The data, released today, is available to subscribers of 451 Research’s M&A KnowledgeBase.