Get Ready for More Tech Acquisitions This Year, Just Not Big Ones

Large tech companies with cash on their balance sheets may be getting ready to make some acquisitions in the coming 12 months, but don’t expect really big deals in the $4 billion or larger range.

That’s the assessment from Toni Sacconaghi, analyst with BernsteinResearch. Who’s likely to be buying? IBM, EMC, Dell and maybe even Apple, he said. Hewlett-Packard, which has said it won’t be making any significant deals during 2013 until its balance sheet is whipped into shape, might get back in the game with some smaller deals in 2014 for companies with market caps of less than $1 billion. Its pace has slowed considerably since the $10 billion deal for Autonomy in 2011. Apple is likely to stick to its usual playbook of quietly buying small companies without meaningful revenue. “We would not be surprised to see Apple do some small deals to advance its iPhone/iPad/iPod capabilities and ecosystem, which would be consistent with the company’s acquisition track-record,” he wrote.