Enterprise Trouncing Consumer in M&A, Too

Consumer spending may account for the majority of Gross Domestic Product. But when it comes to venture-backed M&A, it’s an enterprise world.

That’s one of the findings from an analysis of acquisitions of venture-backed technology companies in the second quarter, based on data from Thomson Reuters. Four of the five largest purchases involved businesses focused on the enterprise software, hardware and services spaces. Just one deal on the top five list – Facebook’s $1 billion purchase of Instagram – was for a consumer Internet company.

The largest deal by a clear margin was also the most recent: Microsoft’s $1.2 billion purchase of Yammer, a developer of social networks for companies. San Francisco-based Yammer, one of the more high-profile startups in the enterprise social media space, had previously raised $142 million from more than a dozen backers including Charles River Ventures, Founders Fund, Emergence Capital Partners and U.S. Venture Partners.

Besides Instagram and Yammer, the other companies on the top five list include:

Buddy Media:  Salesforce.com announced earlier this month that it will buy the New York-based developer of social media marketing tools in a deal valued at up to $745 million. Buddy, founded in 2007, previously raised $92 million from backers including Bay Partners, Greycroft Partners, GGV Capital, Institutional Venture Partners and Softbank, according to Thomson Reuters.

Demandforce: Intuit announced in April that it purchased San Francisco-based Demandware, a developer of automated marketing and communication software for local businesses, for $423 million. Demandforce previously raised $11 million from Benchmark Capital, Palo Alto Venture Partners and Mike Maples.

XtremIO:  EMC announced in May that it acquired XtremIO, developer of flash-based enterprise storage arrays, in a transaction reportedly valued around $430 million. XtremIO, which has offices in Israel and San Jose, Calif., previously raised more than $19 million from Giza Venture Capital, JVP, Battery Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

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