Media M&A Insights 2008

February 2008

Welcome to the sixth edition of Media M&A Insights from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In the report, we analyse the trends driving M&A activity in the European media sector and take time to look ahead to 2008 and beyond.

The report covers:

• European and UK deal activity
• Private Equity involvement in Media
• Sub-sector analysis
• Forecasts for 2008

Media M&A activity was strong in the first half of 2007 although the impact of the ‘credit crunch’ began to be felt in the latter part of the year. Despite this second-half slow down, the UK market still produced record results for the year as a whole, and mainland Europe held steady.

The acquisition of digital capability continued to be a key driver behind deals, particularly in marketing services. This has been coupled with the re-positioning or, in some case, re-invention of traditional print-publishing businesses to compete more effectively in the digital age.