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December 7, 2021updated 30 Sep 2022 10:50am

Future of Media Deals: Free virtual event on M&A strategy, 15 December

By Dominic Ponsford

What does the future hold for industry deals and M&A activity in the media sector next year?

This topic is the subject of a free hour-long virtual event hosted by Press Gazette in association with GlobalData on 15 December from 3pm UK time featuring four expert speakers.

The last year has been immense for news industry mergers and others deals as valuations have gone through the roof.

Current stock market valuations of companies like Future (£4bn+), News Corp (£10b) and Thomson Reuters (£44bn), suggest investors are pricing in a brighter future for news media for the first time since the mid 2000s.

Press Gazette has been covering media mergers and fundraising in its Deals Tracker over the last year.

Highlights include:

  • Lord Rothermere’s £3bn deal to take DMGT private
  • Axel Springer’s $1bn purchase of Politico
  • Future’s £300m buyout of Dennis.

Press Gazette editor in chief Dominic Ponsford will be presenting new exclusive research from GlobalData summarising deals activity in the media sector over the last five years at the online event.

He will be joined by:

  • Cyrus Mewawella – head of thematic research at GlobalData. He will talking about the big themes driving media M&A in 2022 such as: AI, regulation and online privacy
  • Peter Skullima – currently SVP of Global Industry Acceleration at Endava he has around 20 years’ experience in the media industry. In this time, he has been involved in all aspects of the Private Equity/M&A lifecycle including buy and build transactions
  • Tabitha Elwes – A partner in CIL, Tabitha leads CIL’s media practice, which covers consumer and business media, advertising, marketing, media technology and sport. She is a specialist in media strategy and business development helping players across the value chain address the strategic and financial challenges of convergence.

The questions the panel will discuss include:

  • What are the big themes driving media M&A strategy in 2022?
  • What actions should media companies be doing to increase value and maximise their possible purchase price?
  • 2021 saw an explosion in SPAC deals in the US. What was driving that activity and will it continue next year?
  • What does the panel think about valuations for news media companies at the moment. Investors seem to be backing news media. Why is that?
  • What were the most significant media deals of 2021 and what are the deals to look out for in the media space in 2022?

Register now for Future of Media Deals: Predictions for 2022

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