SARASOTA, FL--(Marketwire - May 11, 2010) - IMAP, Inc., an exclusive global merger and acquisition (M&A) organization, is pleased to announce the findings of its Computing and Internet Software Global Report. The report details M&A activity in the high technology industry by country and region during 2009, growth projections for 2010 and beyond, and comments on industry trends. In 2009, the sector saw 1,131 transactions, valued at just over $27 billion in total transaction value. IMAP advisers closed transactions in more than 10 countries in this industrial segment during the last 12 months, details of some are disclosed in the report.
In terms of country, the U.S. saw the highest transaction value of $12.34 billion with a total 501 transactions during the last 12 months. Japan came in second with a transaction value of $9.12 billion with a total of 15 transactions, followed by the U.K., China and Germany.
North America was the clear regional leader with a total of 553 transactions, followed by Europe with 356, Asia with 128, South America with 19, and the Middle East with 14. Still, IMAP advisers expect emerging markets to play a crucial role in balancing revenues in the upcoming years because of their growing demand potential.
In 2009, the retail, wholesale, transportation and logistics, and financial services industries saw significant declines in IT spending, driven by fear of the recession. However, as the 2010 budgets of many companies included a marginal increase in overall IT spending for the year, IMAP advisers expect vendors with virtualization capabilities and open-source strategy to benefit in the future.
Commenting on some of the key findings of the report, Ron Klammer, the managing director and president of IMAP's office in Southport, Connecticut, said, "The recent economic recession had an adverse impact on M&A activity in the software sector. However, the bright spot is small- and medium-sized business (SMBs). SMBs will look for small-business software to automate their operations and maximize their growth."
Despite the economic recession, the mobile application market was estimated to be at $4.2 billion in 2009, thanks to a continuous consumer demand for products from companies like Apple and Google. IMAP advisers predict the mobile enterprise application market to be the next growth driver, due to the increased mobility of employees and the demand for mobile devices.
In 2009, Internet software and services accounted for 30 percent of the total transaction value, followed by computing hardware and applications, with nearly 28 percent of the total. By 2013, IMAP advisers expect spending on cloud computing and services, smart computing, virtualization, business intelligence, and social customer relationship management to increase significantly.
The following are some notable, recent M&A transactions completed by IMAP advisers in the high technology sector:
- IMAP advised Belgium information and communications technologies services company, Data Flow, in its sale to the French information and communications technologies and engineering company, Ausy Group.
- IMAP advised the India-based software solutions for financial services company, Iteamic Private Limited, in the sale of its business operations to the U.S. global system integration consultancy firm, CIBER Inc.
- IMAP advised the U.K.-based Halma P.L.C., safety, health and sensor technology group, in the acquisition of SphereOptics, a U.S.-based light metrology products company.
- IMAP advised Netherlands IT mobile storage manufacturer, Freecom B.V., in its sale to Mitsubishi Kaguka Media Co., Limited, an IT hardware manufacturer, based in Japan.
- IMAP advised Spanish IT services company, Matchmind, S.A., in its 40 percent sale to the Spanish global IT services company, Telvent.
IMAP periodically conducts reports on all major industries, providing a global perspective on M&A activity for a given period. IMAP's reports are a result of internal information gathered for completed M&A projects from IMAP's more than 400 advisers in nearly 30 countries throughout the world, as well as external industry sources. To view IMAP's complete Computing and Internet Software Global Report, visit: http://imap.com/industries/high_technology.cfm.
Media, private equity groups, corporate development personnel, global M&A attorneys, and other industry professionals will have an opportunity to meet representatives from IMAP's High Technology group at IMAP's 2010 Global Mergers & Acquisitions Symposium in Paris, France on Thursday, October 21. More information on this fall symposium will be announced in the coming months and will also be posted to the IMAP Web site: www.imap.com/conferences.
About IMAP
IMAP is an exclusive global organization of leading merger and acquisition advisory firms. Formed in 1973, IMAP is composed of 45 offices in nearly 30 countries throughout North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, Australia and Asia. In 2009, IMAP advisers completed 179 transactions, with an aggregate transaction value of more than $6 billion. IMAP advisers provide strategic merger, acquisition, divestiture and related corporate finance services. Sellers of mid-size companies and corporate acquirers alike rely upon IMAP for essential local market knowledge and industry expertise delivered with unparalleled global reach. Every business day, somewhere in the world, an IMAP adviser is completing an M&A transaction. More information is available via the Internet at www.imap.com.
To arrange an interview with representatives from IMAP's high technology group, or if you are interested in expert commentary from a member of IMAP's global network of advisors, please contact the following:
Contact Information:
Media Contacts:
Christina Bereta for IMAP
(312) 780-7218
christina.bereta@imap.com
David Gutierrez for IMAP
(312) 780-7204
david.gutierrez@imap.com