Technology M&A activity drops in October

Latest Regent figures reveal total deal value of deals is down, but the market remains stable

Tech M&A deals dipped slightly in October but were described as stable in the latest message from market watcher Regent.

The company warned the potential takeover of Yahoo by either Microsoft or Google could "alter the internet-based communications sector forever".

Both firms have been fighting over Yahoo for a while, but Regent said whichever firm is successful in its plans would enjoy a "huge level of dominance" in the market.

A significant acquisition that did go through in October was the takeover of Sony Ericsson by Sony for £876m, giving Sony full control of the mobile phone part of its business as it looks to challenge rivals such as Apple and Samsung.

Other deals included Permira’s acquisition of the Genesys call centre software arm of Alcatel-Lucent for $1.5bn (£942m), and Taiwanese firm HTC snapping up Inquisitive Minds for £8.2m to bolster its application development and presence in the US.

In a statement, Regent said: “The number of European technology deals announced in October was only very slightly lower than in September.

“However, with only two deals valued at greater than $1bn in the month, total deal value was lower at $9.4bn. Valuation multiples improved in October and the rolling three-month average shows a fairly stable picture.”