2020 Technology M&A Mid Year Review

16 Jul 2020

Unsurprisingly, M&A activity in UK Tech fell in H1 but 124 M&A deals still closed in Q2, despite everyone working from home. Overseas acquirers now account for a record high, 49% of all Tech deals in UK. Notable buyers include: Aptean, MRI Software, Descartes, HelpSystems, Microsoft, Accenture and Keysight. These are very uncertain times, but NASDAQ is hitting new highs and we remain very busy on both funding and exit mandates and have closed 5 deals in lockdown. Despite working from home, it is not far off business as usual for many in the Tech sector.

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ICON M&A Buyers Survey - May 2020

21 May 2020

We recently surveyed all the main UK Technology Buyers and it would seem that they are all very much open for business. See our survey results here

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ICON Cybersecurity Sector Update - April 2020

27 Apr 2020

Cybersecurity is proving to be virus resistant. The strong transaction activity seen in 2019 is continuing in 2020, further sustained by a Covid-19 triggered new cybersecurity investment cycle. In our ICON Cybersecurity Update report we highlight current trends and dynamics in the sector, provide insights on market valuations, and examine the M&A and fundraising environments with a focus on Europe.

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Q1 2020 UK Technology M&A Snapshot

03 Apr 2020

Over the years at ICON we have completed deals in every single market condition and we will be doing so in this CoVid and post CoVid world. Read our Q1 UK M&A Snapshot and take a look at some of the very exciting UK tech M&A deals that closed recently.

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Bristol & Bath is a UK hotspot for FinTech entrepreneurs

26 Jan 2020

Bristol named among top cities in the world for Venture Capital investment. The Bristol & Bath region has one of the strongest FinTech ecosystems in the UK with a high number of fast-growing FinTech startups and big players such as ForgeRock and Parmenion. ICON is delighted to have joined Lloyds Bank, Hargreaves Lansdown, FinTech West and Innovate Finance contributing to FinTech West's latest report.

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2019 Technology M&A Review

28 Jan 2020

The Year of The Pig was a bit of a snorter. UK Tech M&A activity was up 20% to a new record number of deals in 2019, driven by strong interest from both PE backed buy-and-build and overseas buyers. With interest rates looking set to remain 'lower for longer' then we expect the wave of cheap money to again fuel healthy M&A activity in the Tech sector in The Year of The Rat.

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2019 Cybersecurity Sector Briefing

01 Sep 2019

Cybersecurity is a highly dynamic and rapidly evolving growth industry which Gartner predicts to exceed $170bn by 2022 (11% CAGR). Secular trends and an increased risk awareness are driving the demand for new technology, creating a hotbed for B2B cybersecurity innovation. New players are emerging at a fast rate, spurred by a large amount of available private capital; whilst challenged legacy technology vendors are paying premium prices to acquire tomorrow’s technology leaders to foster their innovation pipelines.

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2019 Global Technology M&A Mid Year Review

15 Jul 2019

The Year of The Pig is turning out to be a bit of a snorter with strong equity markets driving up M&A activity, particularly in the UK. Some valuations are eye-popping, with FNIS, RELX, SAP, Microsoft, Google, Cisco, OpenText, Workday, Adobe, IBM, Temenos, Docusign, Twilio and Salesforce all having paid more than 10x revenues for recent acquisitions. Buyers seem to be pigging out on a wave of cheap money. 

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