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Back in October last year, we reported that the IT & Business Services sector had just enjoyed bumper M&A activity, with more deals reported in 1H2023 than in any six-month period on record. Now, the release of our most recent IT & Business Services M&A report has confirmed that the sector has remained on bullish form since that data was compiled, with 2H2023 seeing the third-highest deal volume on record.

As Hampleton Partners MD Konstantin Kastius comments in the report, the high numbers “underscore continuing demand for enterprise services and solutions that are increasingly vital for remaining competitive and overcoming expertise deficits in an age of pedal-to-the-metal digital acceleration.”

A couple of years ago, Gartner forecasted a growth in global business spending on workplace IT infrastructure and software, with the research firm describing the industry as “recession-proof”. An analyst noted “the shift from buying technology to building, composing and assembling technology to meet specific business drivers”, describing this shift as “foundational to the growth of cloud over on-premises” spending.

This was echoed by Forrester Research, which noted that despite soaring inflation and other headwinds, “growth in Enterprise Software spending is expected to plow on”, to the extent that “leading software vendors can raise prices consistently without losing demand, resulting in high and stable margins.”

Digital Commerce is one of Hampleton Partners’ specialisms, and our latest M&A report into this space has revealed some interesting data points. The first and most obvious takeaway is that overall transaction numbers remain markedly lower than the protracted surge we saw over the pandemic period, when the societal impact of lockdowns drove unprecedented demand for online retailers and related software solutions vendors.

But the report also highlights signs of a ripening market environment, with the cracking open of the IPO window and an appetite among investors and strategic buyers to stake their claim on game-changing developments within e-commerce.

The latest Enterprise Software M&A report from Hampleton Partners, the international M&A and corporate finance advisory firm for software and technology companies, reveals that, despite a slowdown in the second half of the year, there were 1,881 deals involving companies in the sector in 2023, making it the second-most active year on record.

The report also reveals that strategic buyers are continuing to account for a higher proportion of deals in the sector, with the share of private equity acquirers having dipped since the pandemic. However, private equity acquirers are paying significantly higher EV/revenue and EBITDA multiples than their strategic counterparts.

There’s no denying that the autonomous driving industry has hit more than a few speed bumps of late. Earlier this year, the sector witnessed one of the most high-profile failures we can ever remember seeing in tech: the abrupt shutdown of Project Titan, Apple’s long-gestating, much-whispered-about self-driving car project.

Back in 2015, Apple COO Jeff Williams set tongues wagging when he described the car as the “ultimate mobile device”. Yet, despite tantalising rumours of high-level meetings with legacy OEMs, thousands of Apple staff being brought onto the programme, and at least 450,000 miles of autonomous driving testing logged, the almost decade-long project was unceremoniously junked in February.

The latest Digital Commerce M&A report from Hampleton Partners, the international M&A and corporate finance advisory firm for software and technology companies, reveals the sector experienced a decline in deal numbers throughout 2023, with 1,063 transactions in 2H2023 compared to the 1,220 recorded in the first half of the year. Relative valuation multiples also showed a downward trajectory.

However, M&A volumes have continued to track higher than in the years preceding the pandemic, and there has been increased deal activity in 1Q2024.

The latest IT & Business Services M&A report from Hampleton Partners, the international M&A and corporate finance advisory firm for software and technology companies, reveals that 761 deals were made within the sector in 2H2023.

While falling short of the record-breaking high of 834 attained in the first half of 2023, this is the third-biggest deal volume yet seen in the sector, continuing the trend of transaction numbers within IT & Business Services being markedly higher than in the years prior to the pandemic.

The latest global Autotech & Mobility M&A report from Hampleton Partners, the international M&A and corporate finance advisory firm for software and technology companies, reveals that 63 deals were recorded in the sector during the second half of 2023.

While this is a dip compared to the previous six-month period, which saw the second-highest number of Autotech & Mobility transactions on record, it is significantly higher than what was seen in the doldrums of 2H2022, and reflects widespread sentiment among sector experts that the recent loss of EV sales momentum may only represent a temporary lull before a new phase of growth.

Belgium is synonymous with ornate architecture, moules-frites, world-beating beers and the European Union. It’s somewhat less universally associated with trailblazing tech, but this belies the vibrancy of the startup scene which exists in this small nation of just under 12 million people.

Think “tech” and “Ireland”, and you’d be forgiven for immediately thinking about the enviable concentration of tech behemoths which have selected Dublin as their base of Europe, Middle East and Africa operations.

While the presence of the likes of Google, Facebook and LinkedIn has undoubtedly made the Irish capital one of the most significant industry hubs in the world, a number of factors also make the country an ideal launching pad for hungry young startups which are blazing trails and drawing attention from investors.