Benchmark International is pleased to congratulate Ernst and Young Advisory Services (Pty) Ltd (“EY”) on their acquisition of Parity Software (Pty) Ltd (“Parity”).

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review made a perhaps surprising conjecture: that as far as mergers and acquisitions are concerned, those companies that focus on what they’re going to get from an acquisition are less likely to succeed, in terms of the deal outcomes, than those companies that focus on what they can give to the process.

American computing giant Microsoft continues to expand its acquisitions of Israeli-based software companies, with a reported $100 million deal for cybersecurity start-up Hexadite.

When it comes to M&A security breaches can be costly in more ways than one. Yahoo!’s expectations of a smooth transition in the Verizon takeover have been scuppered with the news that the acquiring company was not prepared to offer the full asking price.

This week the world was exposed to Salesforce’s M&A shopping list after an email from the company’s board member Colin Powell was leaked by “hacktivist” group DCLeaks. The list, which was part of an internal presentation, revealed the names of 14 public companies that Salesforce allegedly had their eye on back in May this year.

Author Terry Pratchett once said, “A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on.” Nowhere is this truer than in the world of mergers and acquisitions. The potential buy-out of Twitter by Disney has been the subject of much rumour and this article looks at their veracity as well as examining other suitors that may be eyeing the micro-blogging site.

Whether it is a food manufacturer acquiring a start-up that specialises in organic goods or a media company making an investment in app development, there is little doubt that a number of M&A deals are being driven by businesses wanting to make that shift to attracting a younger market.

The technology sector has long dominated M&A media coverage, with some of the most recognisable brands sparking the public’s interest with mega-deals grabbing headlines. Increasingly, these deals are focusing on one of the next big battlegrounds for technology companies: the cloud.

Regardless of which way the referendum goes this week, an end to speculation over the UK's membership of the European Union could pave the way for significant M&A activity across the FTSE All-Share.

M&A within the tech sector saw a relatively slow start to 2016. However, analysts predict that the recent announcement of Microsoft’s intention to acquire professional social network LinkedIn for $26bn could trigger a tech M&A boom. So far, $209bn worth of deals have been announced, placing 2016 back on track to match last year’s record deal making.

With the tech industry in the midst of a takeover boom, Microsoft’s $26bn purchase of professional social platform LinkedIn could be a turning point.