TMT Deals ‘Hit an Eight-year High’: FT
The value of deals in the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector in the first quarter of 2014 will hit US$174bn, the highest level since 2006, according to a report by the
Financial Times
.
The business daily notes that the total reflects a battle between some of the world’s largest companies to secure access to global consumers. It cites data from Mergermarket showing that a 65% year-on-year surge in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity within the sector means that TMT accounted for three of the five largest transactions worldwide in the three months to April.
This sharp rise contrasts with a fall in activity in the energy, mining and utilities sector, and slower growth in consumer industry deals, where caution about the strength of economic recovery has continued to weigh on transaction volumes.
The deals announced in Q114 were dominated by Comcast’s US$68.5bn proposed takeover of rival cable operator Time Warner Cable (TWC), which has been contested by the cable company Charter as a rival bidder.
Although a handful of mega deals have captured the headlines, the
FT
notes that it is a steady turnover of mid-sized transactions that has helped differentiate the TMT sector. Largely driven by private equity firms selling companies they bought before the financial crisis, the number of TMT deals valued at more than US$5m in Q114 reached 346.