Following a "deep sleep" in 2009, the UK technology mergers and acquisitions market will wake up this year, with the financial services market playing an important role, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The decline in global tech M&As was mirrored in the UK last year, with 25 completed deals, compared to 66 in 2008. The value of these deals fell 52%, from EUR6.8 billion to EUR3.3 billion.
However, the end of 2009 saw five global EUR1 billion-plus deals - including Dell's EUR2.7 billion acquisition of Perot Systems. Further transactions are likely to follow and PwC says there is now renewed confidence as deal pipelines and activity levels increase, with the financial services sector offering particular cheer.
A string of high profile banking casualties has inevitably caused problems for fintech vendors but a significant increase in financial regulation, compliance, demand for risk management systems, volumes of data processing and a focus on cost reduction and efficiency through IT systems, are all spurring recovery.
Andy Morgan, partner, PwC, says: "Carve-outs from financial institutions and smaller infill deals are expected to prevail within the fintech sector over the next 12 months but M&A activity will require creativity in terms of deal structures to achieve results."