Microsoft Passes Google in Tech M&A

Any startup founder looking to sell should approach Google, the most active acquirer of private tech companies, data shows. But it’s worth talking to Microsoft and IBM as well.

In each of the past four years, Google has ranked in the top three of tech acquirers, the only company to show up so high so often. Facebook, Twitter and Cisco were consistently in the top half-dozen acquirers. The data comes from PrivCo, a New York research firm that tracks private firms. (See accompanying chart.)