Technology mergers and acquisitions reached $71bn in the third quarter, according to a new report from Ernst & Young.
The rise represents 152% year-on-year growth.
During the quarter, the number of deals rose 13% to 220, while the report noted that private equity (PE) deal value reached $11.2bn, a rise of 130%, while the PE volume (60 deals) rose 18% during the quarter.
Mobility and cloud played major roles in the biggest value deals during the period, and the corporate aggregate deal value climbed 157% to $60bn, while corporate volume bounced back to 644 deals.
EY global technology industry transaction advisory services leader Joe Steger said that deal-making confidence is returning to global technology M&A, as evidenced by the record value and renewed volume growth in the third quarter.
"The kinds of deals getting done in Q3 show just how rapidly the five transformative technology megatrends of mobile, social, cloud, big data analytics and accelerated technology adaptation are reshaping the technology landscape," Steger said.
"And as returning confidence overcomes increased political instability, macroeconomic uncertainty and valuation gaps, we will continue to see steady growth in technology M&A volumes.
"According to the CCB, 65% of technology executives expect deal volumes to modestly improve over the next year."
Key trends responsible for driving the deals during the quarter include smart mobile disruption and growth in volume.
However, the firm is anticipating moderate growth in technology deal volumes for the following few quarters.
"As the five megatrends – especially smart mobility and cloud – continue to transform the technology industry landscape, deal-making byleading innovators and by ‘companies at a crossroads’ will drive technology M&A volume up, even if volume for all industries continues to decline," Steger added.
