New research from market analyst Datamonitor reveals that the value of mergers and acquisitions among technology sector companies burgeoned by more than 70 per cent in the first half of 2006, compared with activity levels a year earlier.

The quoted group’s Technology Finance MarketWatch — which tracks all the mergers and acquisitions activity in the sector — demonstrated that for two years on the trot, the biggest takeovers have emanated from the telecoms sector.

The research revealed that the number of transactions recorded in the first six months of the year grew only slightly, from 507 deals in 2005 to 539 this year. However, of the deals tracked, those 539 transactions totalled $199.57 billion (£104.6 billion), versus $113.65 billion recorded last year.

According to Tom Jowitt, senior analyst for technology finance at Datamonitor, ‘the breakdown of deals for the different technology sectors tracked on a daily basis reveals that the telecoms sector scored big again this year, with 26 deals done to the value of almost US$116 billion’.

He continued — ‘that’s broadly comparable with the situation last year, when the 25 deals we recorded in that sector made for the then highest total value of $43 billion.’

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