Breaking down 2012 tech acquisitions by the numbers

A new report from CB Insights scheduled to be released late Tuesday breaks down the acquisitions of 2012, taking a look at the 2,277 private tech companies that were acquired, and examining some trends in M&A. The full report can be found online.

Here are some of the facts I found notable from the report, complete with accompanying charts from CB Insights:

  • Of the companies that were acquired, 76 percent had not raised any investment and instead obtained funds through other avenues:

Percentage of acquired tech companies 2012 that raised funding

  • Facebook and Google made the most acquisitions last year, doing 12 acquisitions each, with Facebook making acquisitions primarily for talent:

Top acquirers of 2012 private tech companies

  • Out of all the companies acquired, just eight were acquired for more than $ 1 billion. Those eight companies amount to less than 3 percent of all acquisitions in 2012. 80 percent of companies were acquired for less than $ 200 million, and more than 50 percent were acquired for less than $ 50 million:

Valuations for companies acquired in 2012

  • Not surprisingly, California saw the most acquisitions, although every state except South Dakota saw at least one:

Geograph of 2012 tech acquisitions

  • And for everyone betting on New York City over San Francisco for the best place to launch your startup, take note: New York saw the highest percentage of acquisitions of internet companies:

Industries by state of tech acquisitions in 2012

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