News: Press Releases, Industry News & Events

There’s been a slew of significant transactions within the e-commerce sector in recent months, which won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s read our most recent Digital Commerce M&A report covering developments in the industry throughout the first half of this year.

Our report showed that, following a brief drop in deal activity in the wake of the 2021/early 2022 boom, M&A volume has been incrementally increasing. Indeed, 1H2023 saw more deals inked than in any six-month period pre-pandemic.

The deals have kept on coming in the latter half of 2023, so let’s take a look at some which have caught our eye here at Hampleton Partners.

By now, everyone knows that generative AI is a once-in-a-generation (if not once-in-a-century) game-changer, and the general discourse is justifiably focused on how automated coding and the instant generation of creative works will affect industries and jobs around the world. But we’re now also seeing more speculation about another radically disruptive branch of AI. Namely, personal AI.

The possibilities of personal AI were recently articulated by no less a figure than Bill Gates, writing on his personal blog. After bluntly stating that “in many ways, software is still pretty dumb” (a reassuring sentiment for those who believe AI is just steps away from rising up against us, Terminator-style), Gates went on to write:

When it comes to investment and M&A activity, it’s fair to say that many spaces within the tech industry have recently had an experience akin to a log flume ride at a fairground. That is to say, an abrupt and vertiginous climb (as the pandemic unfolded and the importance of tech solutions became starkly clear) followed by a dramatic drop, with splashes of cold water hitting quite a few investors, entrepreneurs and industry commentators alike.

But one tech space – IT & Business Services – has had a far less turbulent journey over the past few years. In fact, as our newest IT & Business Services report has revealed, deal numbers have enjoyed a sustained rise since 1H2021, with the first half of this year seeing the biggest ever deal volume on record.

The recent release of our Enterprise Software market report revealed that 2023 has, so far, been a very strong period for M&A deals in this sector. In fact, the first six months of the year saw one of the biggest transaction volumes on record, representing a significant gain in momentum after the dip that affected the whole tech industry in 2022.

London, UK – 17 October 2023. The latest IT & Business Services M&A report from Hampleton Partners, the international M&A and corporate finance advisory firm for technology companies, reveals that 712 deals were made within the sector in 1H2023. This is the largest deal volume for any six-month period on record, representing a 2% increase on the previous largest deal volume, seen in 1H2022.

“As global spending on IT continues to grow faster than the global economy, we see a healthy environment for continued high pace of M&A activity in the IT Services sector,” said Hampleton Partners Managing Director Konstantin Kastius. “Additionally, we see a high demand for certain expertise including AI will drive further the healthy pace of deal activity in 2023.”

The newest Digital Commerce report from Hampleton Partners has shown that deal numbers in the sector are on the up and up following a plunge seen in the wake of the pandemic’s M&A boom. And by “up and up”, we mean precisely that. As our report reveals, transactions have risen in a sustained and incremental fashion since the lowest point of the dip in Q32022, when we recorded 442 deals.

London, UK – 10 October 2023. The latest Enterprise Software M&A report from Hampleton Partners, the international M&A and corporate finance advisory firm for technology companies, reveals that the first half of 2023 saw the number of M&A transactions in this sector show a significant increase on the prior six-month period.

Hampleton Partners’ analysts recorded 923 deals involving Enterprise Software companies in the half-year, which – while not quite rising to the level of 1H2022’s all-time high of 1,015 – is a marked improvement on the 841 deals seen in 2H2022.

This signals fresh confidence in the sector following the mid-2022 market correction triggered by geopolitical tensions and post-pandemic interest rate and inflationary hikes.

At this point, you certainly don’t have to work in tech to be aware of the world-changing impact of generative AI, whose advent is being widely framed as a new industrial revolution. This is reflected in the feeding frenzy of investment in AI startups across multiple sectors. Those with deep pockets are more than willing to invest in companies in their very earliest stages – see Mistral AI, which secured Europe’s biggest-ever seed round ($113 million) within four weeks of founding.

London, UK – 04 October 2023. The latest Digital Commerce M&A report from Hampleton Partners, the international M&A and corporate finance advisory firm for technology companies, reveals that 1,017 transactions were recorded in the first half of 2023. This is considerably higher than deal volumes seen in the years leading to the pandemic, indicating strong market bounceback following the dramatic dip observed in the latter quarters of 2022.  

In recent years there’s been an unprecedented focus on global supply chains. There are several reasons for this – not least the serious logistical disruptions brought about by the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine, labour shortages, soaring energy costs, and severe inflation. This has opened up equally unprecedented opportunities for startups which have developed tech tools that can optimise their clients’ supply chains.