EY’s Olivier Wolf on why tech M&A activity is rising in 2018

Could 2018 be the year of the 1000th tech M&A transaction worldwide? Olivier Wolf, a partner at EY, explains why he thinks this could be the case.

“The M&A space has seen a lot of activity this year already. Corporate buyers are being very active, they can see the growth opportunities associated with acquiring companies, so that’s a big driver,” the told UKTN, adding that private equity was also seeing increased activity alongside the venture capital market.

According to Wolf, the level of M&A activity is high worldwide as investor interest continues to be piqued by good quality businesses and technologies. And although 2018 could reach a historical milestone Wolf believes activity is set to continue rising in subsequent years.

“We don’t believe 2018 will see a peak when it comes to tech M&A.”

What are buyers interested in, though? Software has historically been the most active, Wolf added, while also sharing his predictions for cybersecurity, AI and IOT.

Finally, he outlined the opportunities for startups and scaleups looking for an exit.

For more insight from Wolf, click and watch the video interview below.