Information technology M&A activity in North America had a lukewarm start to 2023, with total deal values plunging by more than half year over year in January.

There were 180 transactions announced in the sector with an aggregate value of $10.76 billion, down 57.42% from $25.27 billion a year ago, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The total number of deals represents a 40.98% decrease from the 305 transactions announced in January 2022.

The latest figures, however, were a slight improvement from December 2022, when the sector recorded 135 deals with $10.07 billion in aggregate value.

None of the 10 biggest infotech deals announced last month surpassed the $5 billion mark, a trend across the M&A scene that reflected a tougher regulatory environment for executing large transactions.

WPF Holdings Inc.'s $4.77 billion acquisition of "super app" provider Vezbi Inc., announced on Jan. 30, emerged as the biggest infotech deal last month. Four other transactions were announced in the final week of January.

* Find out more about the challenges to big-ticket M&A activity in 2023. * Read an analysis of global venture capital investment trends in January on S&P Capital IQ Pro. * Visit our Transactions Statistics page for a custom screen of M&A by industry or geography.

Private equity firms continued making an impact on infotech M&A activity. Vista Equity Partners Management LLC agreed to acquire insurance technology provider Duck Creek Technologies Inc. for $2.63 billion in January's second-largest infotech transaction. Thoma Bravo LP's $868.3 million bid for Canadian digital investigation software company Magnet Forensics Inc. ranked fourth.

Thoma Bravo closed 2022 with six take-private infotech acquisitions from a major U.S. exchange, including its $10.38 billion purchase of Anaplan Inc. and a tie-up with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to buy Coupa Software Inc. for a gross value of $9.05 billion. The Anaplan and Coupa deals rank seventh and ninth, respectively, in the roster of biggest infotech transactions over the past 13 months.

Vista Equity Partners' acquisition of tax software company Avalara Inc. for a gross value of $9.83 billion was the eighth-largest infotech deal within the past year.

Broadcom Inc.'s $71.71 billion take-private deal for VMware Inc., which is facing regulatory scrutiny in the European Union, remains the biggest infotech transaction over the past 13 months, followed by Adobe Inc.'s proposed $19.41 billion acquisition of Figma Inc.