Q1 2023 Media & Marketing Industry Trends

Media & Marketing transaction volume decreased 4.4 percent on a quarterly basis, from 295 to 282. Aggregate value saw a nominal decrease from $9.0 billion to $8.8 billion.

The two largest transactions in the Media & Marketing sector during Q1 2023 included Veritas Capital’s acquisition of Wood Mackenzie, a trusted source of commercial intelligence for the world’s natural resources sector from Verisk Analytics for $3.1 billion, and Informa’s announced acquisition of Tarsus Group, a global leader in B2B events and media, for $940 million.

Comparatively, in Q1 2022, the sector reached its peak value in the last five quarters, largely driven by Microsoft’s announced acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.6 billion. Activision Blizzard is known for developing and publishing games based on beloved entertainment franchises such as Call of Duty, Destiny, Skylanders, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and Hearthstone. Another gaming acquisition that added to the value of Q1 2022 was Take-Two Interactive Software’s acquisition of Zynga, a global leader in interactive entertainment, including games like FarmVille and Words with Friends, for $12.1 billion.

In the Entertainment segment, M&A activity experienced a significant decline of 36.4 percent from Q4 2022 to Q1 2023. However, the gaming sector remained notable. Prominent gaming-focused transactions included Playtika’s announced acquisition of Rovio, a global mobile-first games company, for $560 million, and Keywords Studios’ acquisition of Digital Media Management (DMM) for $68 million. DMM specializes in integrated social media strategy and creative influencer solutions for clients in the entertainment and video games sectors.

Within the Marketing segment, transaction volume decreased by 4 percent in Q1 2023 compared to Q4 2022. The Internet Media segment also experienced a 9.1 percent decline in volume quarter-to-quarter.