There was $47bn (£28bn) of M&A activity in the mobile industry over the past 12 months, according to a report by Digi-Capital. By itself Q2 2014 saw $13.8bn, over seven times the amount spent in the same quarter a year earlier.

At $19bn, Facebooks WhatsApp acquisition alone accounts for 40 per cent of that figure. Of the remaining $28bn, the largest segment was mobile gaming ($5bn), followed by messaging ($4.1bn) and music ($3bn).

There was also over $14bn of investment in mobile companies over the period, led by travel and transport (£3.1bn), utilties ($1.5bn) and mCommerce ($1.4bn),

The mobile advertising and marketing space specifically saw $2.3bn of M&A activity, and $700m investment during the period.

The report also examined each sectors investment potential, identifying mCommerce and wearable technology as major opportunities with relatively low investor competition and more exit opportunities, and mobile advertising and marketing as hidden gems with low competition but currently fewer exit opportunities. Check out Digi-Capitals full graph below.