Rate of dealmaking by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, et al is highest since 2015

By Miles Kruppa & James Fontanella-Kahn, Financial Times @ arstechinca.com, May 29

Big technology companies are hunting for deals at their fastest pace in years, racking up acquisitions and strategic investments despite increased regulatory scrutiny during the coronavirus-led market turmoil.

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft have announced 19 deals this year, according to Refinitiv data from May 26, representing the fastest pace of acquisitions to this date since 2015.

The Financial Times on Tuesday reported Amazon was also in advanced talks to purchase the self-driving car company Zoox, which was valued at $3.2 billion two years ago. Meanwhile, Facebook in March announced its largest international investment yet, purchasing a $5.7 billion stake in the juggernaut Indian telecoms operator Reliance Jio.

The deals mark a departure from the 2001 recession and the 2008 financial crisis, when tech companies largely retreated from big purchases following dips in the stock market.

“One big difference between now and the last financial crisis is the cash balances of the tech majors are in the hundreds of billions, all effectively onshore, due to the Trump tax changes,” said John Gnuse, a tech M&A adviser at Lazard, referring to president Donald Trump’s move to lower the rate on repatriated offshore profits [....]