Last year saw a boom for mergers and acquisitions — a stunning 139% increase in the U.S. compared to 2020. Deal volumes broke records with $5.8 trillion worth of M&A activity in 2021, driven primarily by digital transformation, access to capital, a recovering global economy and labor shortages. This “supercharged” M&A environment will likely continue in the foreseeable future.
Perhaps not surprisingly, technology and telecommunications deals accounted for nearly 20% of M&A activity last year, including more than 2,000 media-related deals worth $189.7 billion. Notable major transactions included AppLovin acquiring MoPub, Microsoft acquiring both Xandr and Nuance, and Integral Ad Science buying connected TV advertising platform Publica, along with other multibillion-dollar deals.
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