Q3 2020 Media & Marketing Industry Trends

Q3 2020 Key Highlights

Four of the industry’s top five largest transactions year-to-date occurred in Q3 2020.

Two of these four deals occurred in the Internet Media segment: Adevinta’s announced acquisition of eBay Classifieds Group for $9.2 billion; and Blackstone Group’s announced acquisition of Ancestry.com for $4.7 billion.

There were 125 financially sponsored transactions in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2020 with an aggregate value of $11.5 billion, representing 13 percent of the total volume and 21 percent of the total value, respectively.

Q3 2020 Key Trends

Total transaction volume in Q3 2020 increased by ten percent over Q2 2020, from 274 to 301.

Total transaction value in Q3 2020 rose six-fold over Q2 2020, from $5.0 billion to $30.8 billion.

Multiples & Value Trends

The median revenue multiple from 2019 through the 1st 3 Quarters of 2020 shifted slightly from 2.3x to 2.2x.

The median EBITDA multiple from 2019 through the 1st 3 Quarters of 2020 gained 36 percent, from 8.3x to 11.3x. This marked a return to its 2018 level.

Top Ten Deals Through Q3 2020

The top ten deals by value have seen four new additions since our half year report. Upon further examination of the top ten list year-to-date, eight of the deals were completed by strategic acquirers and only two took place in Q2 2020.

These four transactions, with an aggregate value of $24.1 billion, represented 44 percent of transaction value in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2020 and 78 percent of Q3 2020 transaction value.