Software & Services

In Q2'17, we experienced a significant slump in technology M&A transactions. Much of this slowdown can be attributed to the major enterprise software vendors taking a hiatus from their historical high dollar strategic shopping sprees. Conversely, private equity firms continued to play an aggressive role in dealmaking in Q2.  Looking back on the quarter, we saw an unparalleled event in which private equity firms announced more technology acquisitions than their publicly traded strategic counterparts on U.S. stock exchanges. Private equity continues to invest heavily in technology and raise mega-funds with a technology focus.

The second quarter did see a number of hallmark transactions. Multiple $1 billion-plus deals pushed cumulative disclosed M&A transaction value above $9 billion for the quarter in the Tech-Enabled Services sector, which was significantly higher than the $5.3 billion in Q1’17. Furthermore, there were more than 260 SaaS acquisitions announced globally in Q2, which was approximately 100 more than in Q1.