Tech consolidation in the cards?

With the credit crunch and looming recession, it is likely that only the very strongest and well-financed and most creditworthy technology companies will thrive and that smaller and weaker tech companies may likely be gobbled up by their healthier brethren. I am not prepared to predict the matchups, but almost nothing would surprise me.

The big risk for stock market investors is that even if you do manage to pick and buy the hot acquisition targets, market volatility might push your stock down in the interim so that even an acquisition at a hefty premium to the market price may be well below your own purchase price.

-- Jack Krupansky