Acquirers are looking for synergies that they can see with their current business (which they know well). Investors are looking at a range of possible exits and may be more open to possibilities. Firms like the Corum Group http://www.corumgroup.com/ specialize in software mergers and acquisition and offer a great "Selling Up, Selling Out" conference that's worth attending.

Why not? Do you think this will change?

Investors are driven by optimism. M&A guys are as brutally pragmatic as sharks. Neither one is intrinsically more right than the other; they're just two different kinds of people.