Key Deals - October 2005

Much has been written about Siebel, but one deal that caused some head scratching was eBay's decision to spend as much as $4.1bn on Skype. It is a staggering amount considering Skype only posted annual revenue of $6m last year, yet such is the belief in VoIP's potential, that companies are willing to pay the type of prices last seen during the dot-com era.

HP was active on the M&A front as it continued its global restructuring plan. The purchase of infrastructure management software vendor Peregrine will boost its OpenView management suite, while the AppIQ deal is part of HP's efforts to rebuild its presence in the storage market.

A surprising entry was Groupe Bull acquiring Enatel, an access security company. The deal signals the restored financial health of the French hardware maker after a government backed 'aid package'.

There was solid funding activity, with VCs backing anything to do with VoIP, online gaming, or technology that pushes content or services to mobile phones. The IPO market also saw some activity, mainly on the London exchanges.

Key mergers and acquisitions in August/September 2005

Companies raising funding in August/September 2005

Completed initial public offerings in August/September 2005