Track corporate development and M&A activity across tech. Deal flow, acquisition trends, strategic buyer analysis, and corp dev insights for founders.
Big tech M&A activity is a leading indicator of where enterprise value is migrating. Here's the corp dev landscape — acquisitions, deal sizes, and the strategic logic behind the biggest moves.
| Acquirer | Target | Deal Size | Strategic Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wiz | $23B | Cloud security / CNAPP | |
| Microsoft | Activision Blizzard | $68.7B | Gaming / metaverse content |
| Cisco | Splunk | $28B | Security + observability |
| Salesforce | Informatica (attempted) | ~$11B (failed) | Data integration / AI data |
| ServiceNow | G2K Group | Undisclosed | Workflow AI capabilities |
| Amazon | Anthropic (investment) | $4B+ | AI infrastructure / models |
Hyperscalers acquire for AI capability, cloud lock-in, and talent. Deals over $1B are common. Regulatory scrutiny is high — the FTC challenged both the Microsoft-Activision deal and Google-Wiz. Big tech M&A is now priced with a regulatory risk premium.
Enterprise software buyers acquire to expand TAM and add AI features to existing platforms. Salesforce bought Slack, MuleSoft, Tableau. Oracle acquired Cerner for $28B. The playbook: buy the category leader, integrate into the platform, cross-sell to existing customer base.
PE firms buy founder-led software companies, implement operational efficiency, and roll up adjacents. Thoma Bravo, Vista Equity, and Francisco Partners specialize in this. Targets typically have $20–200M ARR, high NRR, and under-monetized upsell potential.
In AI, ‘acqui-hires’ dominate smaller deals — buying a team and technology without paying full strategic value. Microsoft’s Inflection AI deal (hired the team, licensed IP) set a model. These structures avoid antitrust review while achieving the same talent acquisition goal.
Corporate development (corp dev) teams execute M&A strategy — sourcing targets, running diligence, negotiating terms, and managing integration. At large tech companies, corp dev teams of 5–20 professionals handle billions in annual deal volume. They work alongside product, legal, and finance to evaluate whether to ‘buy vs. build’ for each strategic capability gap.
Big tech companies value acquisitions on strategic fit first, financial metrics second. Common frameworks: revenue multiple (EV/ARR), discounted cash flow for mature businesses, cost to build equivalent capability, and talent value (especially for acqui-hires where the team is the primary asset). Strategic acquirers can justify higher multiples than financial buyers because of synergies — cross-sell, cost elimination, and platform leverage.
High-quality M&A targets share: (1) Unique technology that would take 2+ years to build internally; (2) Strong customer relationships or data assets the acquirer wants; (3) Talent in hard-to-hire domains (AI researchers, specialized engineers); (4) High NRR demonstrating product stickiness; (5) A market position the acquirer cannot easily replicate organically. Acquirers also look for clean cap tables, IP ownership, and no serious customer concentration risk.