M&A activity among US and Canadian media and telecom companies decreased year over year in April to 97 transactions, with the total value dipping 63.93% to $17.58 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
There were 157 deals struck in April 2022 at an aggregate value of $48.75 billion. April 2023's total deal value is a leap over the $1.87 billion recorded in March from 135 transactions.
 | – Read S&P Capital IQ Pro's rundown of the biggest European media or telecom deals in April. – Check our Transactions Statistics page to run a |
The sector's three biggest deals in April also emerged as the three largest transactions year to date.
Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. unit Zuffa LLC's proposed acquisition of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. topped media and telecom deals with a gross value of $9.78 billion. The transaction, announced April 3, is expected to be completed in the second half.
Under the deal, Endeavor and WWE will form a new parent entity, with the two companies holding stakes of 51% and 49%, respectively, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Zuffa, doing business as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, provides sports promotion services.
The second-largest transaction involved Savvy Games Group's $4.90 billion purchase of California-based, mobile-focused game publisher Scopely Inc. The deal is 2023's first large-scale video game transaction and the segment's sixth-biggest on record, according to Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence.
An investor group's $2.82 billion proposal to take Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. private became the third-biggest media and telecom deal so far in 2023. The investor group comprises Searchlight Capital Partners LP and British Columbia Investment Management Corp.
