PwC Finds Sustained M&A Activity in Media, Entertainment Business

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NEW YORK: There were 207 merger and acquisition deals in the U.S. media and entertainment business in the third quarter, roughly on par with the previous quarter, which recorded 221 deals, according to PwC.

PwC’s US Entertainment, Media & Communications (EMC) Deal Insights for Q3 said M&A deal value in the period was $23 billion, down from $76 billion in Q2, as a result of a lack of "transformative" mega deals. TV broadcasting activity provided the lion’s share of the deal value. In Q3 there were three deals valued at more than $1 billion, among them Altice's Cablevision agreement. PwC observed a decline in deals involving U.S. companies investing abroad, from 59 in Q2 to 53 in Q3.

Looking ahead to Q4 and 2015, PwC observes, "In spite of the market fluctuations and the M&A value contraction seen in Q3, appetite to initiate organic and inorganic growth strategies remains at a fever pitch. Whether driven by an influx of quality content being developed by traditional and non-traditional players; or changing consumer demographics and preferences; or the ubiquity of mobile and video offerings among industry players, PwC expects M&A activity across EMC sectors will continue into the last quarter of 2015 and well into 2016."

Activity in the cable sector is expected to continue: "PwC believes cable companies continue to look towards consolidation and operators are reaching out to competitors with similar footprints to take advantage of synergies, economies of scale, etc."