Dealmaking activity in North America's information technology sector continued to weaken in December 2023 with the number of announced transactions falling nearly 25% year over year to reach the year's lowest monthly total, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
There were 107 M&A deals announced in December 2023, down from 143 transactions in the same month in 2022. However, the monthly aggregate deal value increased year over year to $12.80 billion from $11.49 billion due to two transactions that topped the billion-dollar mark.
Overall, 2023 proved to be a challenging year for infotech M&A both in terms of total deal value and volume amid rising interest rates and a regulatory crackdown on Big Tech, among other factors.
In 2023, M&A activity within the sector peaked in January with 186 deals. That marked a decline from 2022's peak of 296 deals, tallied in January of that year.
In terms of deal value, the sector's highest monthly total for 2023 was recorded in September at $35.68 billion. That amount was significantly lower than the highest monthly tally for 2022 of $109.40 billion recorded in May.
S&P Global Market Intelligence tallied 1,819 M&A deals worth a total of $133.72 billion in 2023, compared with with 2,451 M&A deals amounting to about $272.90 billion in 2022.
December dealmaking
The largest deal of December 2023 was a private equity consortium's bid to take data analytics software company Alteryx Inc. private. The deal ranked as the fifth-biggest transaction of 2023.
Valued at about $5.16 billion including debt, the Alteryx deal is being led by Insight Venture Management LLC and Clearlake Capital Group LP. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Houlihan Lokey Inc. are advising the investor group on the transaction. Qatalyst Partners LP is advising Alteryx.
– Take a closer look at the infotech sector's largest deal in 2023.
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Honeywell International Inc.'s agreement to acquire Global Access Solutions from Carrier Global Corp. for an enterprise value of $4.95 billion ranked as the second-largest deal of December 2023 and the sixth-biggest overall that year. The all-cash deal is expected to close before the end of the third quarter of 2024.
Evercore Inc. is advising Honeywell, while Goldman Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities are advising Carrier Global on the transaction.
Another notable deal in December 2023 was technology distributor Insight Enterprises Inc.'s acquisition of SADA Systems Inc. in a deal valued at $800.0 million. The financial advisers of the deal were not disclosed.
Cisco Systems Inc.'s proposed acquisition of cybersecurity software company Splunk Inc. was the biggest M&A deal announced in 2023.
The transaction, announced in September 2023, is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
The Cisco-Splunk deal was followed by Qualtrics International Inc.'s sale to private equity firm Silver Lake Technology Management LLC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
The only other 11-figure deal in 2023 was Nasdaq Inc.'s acquisition of Adenza Group Inc.
