Tech Leads Crisis-driven M&A Boom With $350 Billion Deal Rush

Tech firms comprised 17.8% of the total at $351.4 billion, the highest level since the dotcom boom of 2000, while financial services were in second place with a deal value of $283.8 billion or 14% of the total, Refinitiv said.

Tech’s dominance, the data showed 5,966 deals targeting tech so far this year out of a total of just over 30,000, reflects the wider impact the coronavirus crisis has had.

The en masse switch by people stuck at home to internet-powered platforms for shopping, working, schooling, medical consultations and communication has sparked speculation that some of these shifts are permanent.

“Because of the changes that will come on back of this, companies will be thinking of whether they have the right business structures. There is a greater risk of a structural change in consumer behaviour than after previous recessions,” Secker at Morgan Stanley said.