Deloitte’s biannual survey of UK technology companies shows heightened optimism for mergers and acquisitions in the year ahead, with cloud services and mobile apps amongst the hottest sectors.
But, despite a growing number of planned tech stock flotations, Deloitte warns: “Following a difficult 2010, few technology leaders believe that the next 12 months will prove a good time to float a UK technology company.”
That means the likes of Mail.ru Group, Badoo and Perform Group are going against their peers.
The number of tech companies expecting increasing investor appetite for tech IPOs has halved from 33 percent to 16 percent.
Deloitte’s capital markets partner John Hammond: “Well publicised details of eleventh hour valuation revisions and pulled flotations (across all sectors) have not been conducive to building management confidence in new listings. Nevertheless, a compelling growth strategy and good timing may allow some companies to buck this trend.”
Technology partner Conor Cahill: “M&A valuations are expected to increase in the next 12 months as auctions become more competitive. The favoured sectors that will attract a premium are those that support and embrace cloud based solutions, while diagnostic software is particularly important to understand changes in customer behaviour.”