Media & Telecom M&A Fell In 2022, But It’s A Good Time For The “Well-Capitalized” And The “Bold”
09.12.2022 - 04:29
/ deadline.com
After record deal-making in 2021, the number and dollar value of M&A in media and telecommunications fell during the past 12 months through November, according to the latest report by PwC.
There have been 3,772 deals, a 26% year-over-year drop. The dollar value of M&A totaled $624 billion, an 18% dip, the firm said in its biannual U.S. Deals Outlook. That’s still above pre-pandemic levels but squeezed by higher interest rates and inflation, a soft stock market, growing geopolitical tensions and enhanced regulatory oversight — i.e. the FTC’s announcement today that it will sue to block Microsoft’s planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. All are pressures that will continue to color M&A into 2023.
Microsoft-Activision and Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover were the biggest deals of the year in the space, which includes everything that was announced over the 12 months whether it closed or not. It does not include any transactions that were announced previously but may have closed 2022, like Warner Bros. Discovery ($43 billion) or Amazon’s buy of MGM ($8.5 billion).
Higher interest rates make financing deals more expensive, so private equity firms, which are prolific buyers in the media and telecom space, are sticking more to the sidelines. That means fewer bidders on any given asset, so valuations fall. And sellers might ask, “‘Do I want to be out in the market right now, given that there are financing challenges, and diminished buyer pools? Or do I want to wait and see how everything looks in six months?’ So there is less coming to market to be sold, whether it’s an entire company or a business unit,” Bart Spiegel, Global Entertainment & Media Deals Leader, PwC US, told Deadline. “The overall M&A
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