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.