The number of European technology companies acquired by Asian groups more than doubled between 2014 and 2016, with SoftBank of Japan and Chinese companies being the most active.
The Asian Horizons report compiled by GP Bullhound, the tech-focused investment bank, found that the number of Asian deals for European software and hardware companies increased to 49 in 2016 from 22 in 2014, while the value of those acquisitions rose 30-fold to $50.4bn.
The $30bn acquisition of Arm Holdings by SoftBank, the Japanese technology group, was the blockbuster deal but a host of other European technology companies have also been bought by Asian buyers for more than a $1bn. These include the $1.2bn Chinese acquisition of Norwegian web browser designer Opera Software and Skyscanner, the UK travel comparison site that was bought by Chinese travel agent Ctrip for £1.4bn.