Public markets are riding high, and many big tech acquirers are flush with cash. However, it’s a very dull year for big acquisitions of private technology companies.
Seven months into 2017 and we’ve seen just one big unicorn M&A deal: Cisco’s $3.7 billion purchase of AppDynamics. And that was back in January. Two other one-time unicorns acquired this year, data management technology provider SimpliVity and Middle Eastern online retailer Souq.com, sold for well below their peak private valuations.