Tech Execs See a Dealmaking Surge in 2014 — Maybe

Also: More “acqhire” deals.

Voices

U.S. Tightens Grip on Telecom

The U.S. government has used the merger-approval process to increase its influence over the telecom industry, bringing more companies under its oversight and gaining a say over activities as fundamental as equipment purchases

News Byte

Investor Group Offers $6.9 Billion to Take BMC Private

Software company BMC has agreed to be acquired by a group of four private equity firms. Together, Bain Capital, Golden Gate Capital, GIC Special Investments and Insight Venture Partners have offered to take BMC private at $46.25 a share, a deal that values the company at $6.9 billion, which amounts to a premium of less than 2 percent over BMC’s closing share price on Friday.

Icahn Threatens Dell With “Years of Litigation” Over Buyout

Read the letter.

Sprint Takeover of Clearwire Just Wishful Thinking, for Now

Put down the champagne bottles, folks.

Voices

Deutsche Telekom, MetroPCS Boards Back T-Mobile Deal

The boards of Deutsche Telekom AG and MetroPCS Communications Inc. have approved a deal to merge MetroPCS with the German operator’s U.S. subsidiary, T-Mobile USA, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, a deal that would give the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier more scale as it tries to compete with the industry’s leaders.

Salesforce.com Quietly Bought an Israeli Start-Up Called BlueTail in July

At least five people who used to have jobs at an Israeli start-up called BlueTail now have jobs at Salesforce.com. One of them is the new chief scientist at Salesforce’s Data.com.

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg

Bad-faith negotiations are inexcusable, and I didn’t want to believe your company would stoop this low. My mistake.

— App.net founder Dalton Caldwell, in a blog post accusing Facebook of bullying tactics in its M&A practices

Akamai Confirms the Rumors, Nabs Cotendo for $268 Million

Akamai confirms the rumors, and nabs Israeli content-distribution start-up Cotendo, apparently outbidding Juniper in the process.

News Byte

Well, That Was Fast: IBM Snags Q1 Labs, Forms Security Unit

Making good on signals it floated that it might begin another acquisitive streak, IBM today said it will acquire Q1 Labs, a Massachusetts-based security firm that specializes in using analytics to detect and flag suspicious activity on corporate networks. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but IBM said Q1 will be added to its newly formed Security Systems Unit, going after what it says is a $94 billion opportunity in security software and services.

Latest Dell Acquisition: Not Palm

Google Loves Apple’s Quattro Deal