CURRENT RUSSIAN AND FOREIGN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS TRENDS IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

The purpose of the study is to identify trends in the domestic and foreign markets of mergers and acquisitions in the IT sector. In the article, the author examines the dynamics and distinctive features of the implementation of mergers and acquisitions in relation to the information technology industry, exploring foreign and domestic experience of mergers and acquisitions in the IT sector, including pandemic-driven M&A transactions. The author notes a slight decrease in the number of transactions during this period, while maintaining the overall dynamics and consolidation of the industry, describes the specifics of the implementation of mergers and acquisitions in the IT industry. Results. As a result of the conducted research, the author finds the following differences in business areas that become objects of M&A in Russia and abroad: in the foreign market, the objects of transactions are companies that produce products that use self-learning artificial intelligence algorithms that allow optimizing business processes, project management and customer service, and in the IT industry, there is a large-scale consolidation of the market for the development of innovative equipment. In Russia, mergers and acquisitions in the information technology sector are still more focused on e-commerce and services. The author highlights the tendency of the founders of modern IT companies to initially focus on creating a short-cycle product and accelerated business sales, which is possible in cases of creating companies using modern corporate governance tools and procedures that can ensure manageability, transparency, and efficiency of business sales.

M&A, mergers and acquisitions, measures to support IT companies, information technology industry, COVID-19 pandemic, digitalization, digital transformation, corporate procedures, corporate law, M&A