The battle between Facebook and Google to dominate the next wave of digital growth has propelled the value of tech deals done so far this year to $50bn – a level not seen since the height of the dotcom bubble.
Facebook’s $19bn deal to buy WhatsApp means the beginning of 2014 has been the busiest start to a year for technology M&A since $78bn was spent in the opening months of 2000, according to data from Dealogic.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook chief executive, and Larry Page, Google chief executive, are going head to head in the deal frenzy, using their large cash piles and soaring share prices to make big bets on which fast-growing start-ups will shake up their industry.