Microsoft is 2006 takeover titan

Microsoft racked up the largest number of global acquisitions in 2006 with 14 takeovers.

Oracle and KPN were placed joint second, with 13 acquisitions apiece, and IBM came in fourth with 12 buyouts, according to consultant Icon Corporate Finance.

Top 10 global technology buyers in 2006 (number of buys)

1. Microsoft (14)
=2. KPN (13)
=2. Oracle (13)
4. IBM (12)
=5. 3M (9)
=5. EMC (9)
=5. HP (9)
=8. Cisco(7)
=8. Google (7)
=8. VeriSign (7)

Among Microsoft's acquisitions were Canadian asset-tracking company AssetMetrix and a reported $75m deal for remote-access and firewall company Whale Communications.

The largest global technology deal in 2006 was Alcatel's acquisition of Lucent at $11.5bn.

Other large transactions in 2006 include Cisco splashing out $5.3bn for Scientific Atlanta, HP buying Mercury Interactive for $4.5bn and Big Blue acquiring Filenet and ISS for a total of $2.9bn.

Despite the frenzy surrounding Google's $1.65bn splurge for YouTube, the search engine came in joint eighth position with Cisco and VeriSign - all three companies notched up seven acquisitions each.

Though it didn't make the top 10, Experian was the top-ranking UK buyer on the list, with six acquisitions including a £100m payout for customer services company ClarityBlue.