As technology giants scour the market for software acquisitions, one thing they will likely avoid is the type of high-priced, jaw-dropping deals that cropped up before the credit crisis. So says leading technology banker Michal Katz, who predicts most of the dealmaking in the red-hot software technology business will run in the $1 billion to $5 billion range. "Deals that are $5 billion and above are harder to execute and harder to integrate," said Katz, who heads the software technology investment banking practice at Barclays Capital. This means powerhouses with deep pockets such as Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N), IBM (IBM.N), and Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) would be more likely to pursue smaller "tuck in" deals than blockbuster ones.
Microsoft Corporation is engaged in developing, manufacturing, licensing and supporting a range of software products and services for different types of computing devices. Shares of MSFT traded higher by 0.95% or $0.225/share to $23.93. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $22.73 and as high as $29.46. On average, 62187800 shares of MSFT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 15914387.
Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) is a provider of products, technologies, software, solutions and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors. Shares of HPQ fell by 0.53% or $-0.185/share to $34.94. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $35.44 and as high as $49.39. On average, 19672100 shares of HPQ exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 7482570.
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an information technology (IT) company. Shares of IBM fell by 0.03% or $-0.05/share to $163.13. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $120.61 and as high as $173.54. On average, 5264650 shares of IBM exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1596266.
Oracle Corporation is an enterprise software company. Shares of ORCL traded higher by 1.31% or $0.409/share to $31.59. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $21.24 and as high as $36.50. On average, 26578000 shares of ORCL exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 11822964.
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