Deal volume among U.S. and Canadian media and telecommunications companies declined 37.6% year over year in March.

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, 128 media and telecom transactions were announced in the month, compared to 205 in the year-ago period. However, the March total grew 20.7% from the 106 deals announced in February of this year.

Shift4 Payments Inc.'s acquisition of cryptocurrency donation platform Giving Block Inc. for $300 million was the biggest deal announcement in the media and telecom sectors in March. Shift4 is a unit of Searchlight Capital Partners LP.

Shift4 engaged Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as financial advisers on the transaction, while Giving Block worked with Canaccord Genuity Financial Ltd. The companies did not disclose any advisory fees.

MarketCast LLC's purchase of advertising company Research Horizons LLC, doing business as Phoenix Marketing International, for $150 million ranked second for March. On completion of the transaction, the Phoenix team, including researchers, data analysts, product leaders and engineers, will join MarketCast's organization. The companies did not provide details for financial advisers.

French online platform for luxury products Vestiaire Collective SA's acquisition of online marketplace operator Tradesy Inc. for $120 million was the third-largest deal of the month

Morgan & Leeton PC was the financial adviser to Vestiaire, while Cowen Group Inc. advised Tradesy on the transaction. The companies did not disclose any advisory fees.

Two pending gaming deals announced in January — Microsoft Corp.'s $78.25 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s $13.47 billion acquisition of Zynga Inc. — remained the largest M&A transactions for the media and telecom sectors for the year to date.