Deal Tracker: European media, telecom M&A activity drops in January

European media and telecom sector deals declined to 65 transactions in January against 103 deals recorded in the same month in 2022, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The combined value of the transactions during the month fell to $99 million from $2.69 billion in the comparable period a year ago.

Playtika Holding Corp.'s offer to buy Rovio Entertainment Oyj for $745.7 million was the month's largest deal. Angry Birds mobile-gaming franchise developer Rovio said it received expressions of interest and indicative nonbinding takeover proposals, and as part of a strategic review, it decided to enter into preliminary nonbinding talks with certain parties, including Playtika Holding Corp., according to a Feb. 6 Dow Jones Newswires report.

The sale of Swedish property platform operator Hemnet Group AB to an undisclosed buyer for $221.6 million featured as the second-biggest deal.

Meanwhile, the third-largest M&A deal in January involved private equity firm Wendel's agreement to acquire Luxembourg-based open-source intelligence platform provider, TaDaweb SA, for $15.8 million. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of the year, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

* Read about the top deals in Europe's media and telecom sector in December 2022. * Use our Transactions Statistics page to run a custom screen of M&A by industry or geography.

Wireless telecom services, advertising, movies and entertainment, interactive media and services and interactive home entertainment were the subsectors that dominated dealmaking for the period under review.