Skip to main content

Technology, Media and Telecom 2015 M&A Deal Update

The Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals are off to a slow start this year, according to the latest worldwide market study by Mergermarket. Market activity so far in 2015 was not able to match the performance of 2014.

Case in point: the 612 M&A deals worth $144.3 billion in Q1 2015 were a 20.5 percent decrease by value and 61 fewer deals, when compared to the 673 deals valued at $181.5 billion in Q1 2014.

Although global M&A activity share for the TMT sector has fallen from the 28.6 percent share in Q1 2014 to a 19.2 percent share in Q1 2015, the consolidated sector has still been the strongest globally, closely followed by the Consumer industry with $143.2 billion.

Regional TMT M&A Market Trends

European TMT targets, with a total of M&A activity valued at $61 billion, experienced a 33.1 percent increase over the $45.8 billion in Q1 2014 -- representing the highest Q1 value on Mergermarket record, and constituting 42.3 percent of global TMT deal activity.

The U.S. market activity, closely following Europe with a 39 percent market share, has seen a dramatic decrease in TMT activity compared to Q1 2014. The American market saw a 51.4 percent fall from a record $115.8 billion in Q1 2014 -- that's now down to $56.3 billion in Q1 2015.

Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) saw its healthiest Q1 since the financial crisis with deal values at $22.6 billion, led by China’s strong TMT deal activity valued at $16.5 billion, reaching the second highest quarter on Mergermarket record for the country.

Other TMT M&A Market Trends

Mergermarket reports that there was a clear contrast, year-over-year, between a dramatic decrease in domestic TMT activity and an increase in cross-border activity. Domestic takeovers fell by 53 percent to $57.2 billion in Q1 2015 while cross-border activity increased by 45.3 percent to $87.2 billion in Q1 2015.

All segments of the TMT M&A market saw a decrease, compared to Q1 2014. Although the Telecommunications segment was most active, it also witnessed the largest fall to $70.4 billion in Q1 2015 -- representing a 33.3 percent drop.

The Technology segment activity almost matched the values of Q1 2014 and together with the Telecommunications secgment constituted 92.6 percent of total market activity for the TMT sector.

By comparison, Media transactions valued at $10.8 billion, played a relatively small part in the consolidated TMT sector deal making share for Q1 2015.

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Venture Capital in APAC AI Market

Technology is a compelling catalyst for economic growth across the globe.  Artificial intelligence (AI) rides a seismic wave of transformation in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region — a market bolstered by bold government initiatives, swelling pools of capital, and vibrant tech ambition. The latest IDC analysis sheds light on this dynamic market. Despite a contraction in deal volumes through 2024, total AI venture funding surged to an impressive $15.4 billion — a signal of the region’s resilience and the maturation of its digital-native businesses (DNBs). Asia-Pacific AI Market Development The APAC AI sector’s funding story is not just about headline numbers but also about how and where investments are shifting. Even as the number of deals slowed, the aggregate value of investments climbed, reflecting a preference among investors for fewer but larger, high-potential bets on mature or highly scalable AI enterprises. The information technology sector led the AI investment charge. Top area...