Advertisment

Merger and acquisition marked Indian media industry in 2016, says report

Ernst and Young latest Media and Entertainment Capital Confidence Barometer also signals an uptick in M&A in 2017. Last year saw a total of 56 deals with cumulative disclosed value of $1.8 billion

author-image
BestMediaInfo Bureau
New Update
Merger and acquisition marked Indian media industry in 2016, says report

Merger and acquisition marked Indian media industry in 2016, says report

Ernst and Young latest Media and Entertainment Capital Confidence Barometer also signals an uptick in M&A in 2017. Last year saw a total of 56 deals with cumulative disclosed value of $1.8 billion

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | February 14, 2017

ey_barometer

Ernst and Young has released its fifth bi-annual Media and Entertainment Capital Confidence Barometer (CCB).

According to the report, the merger and acquisition (M&A) outlook for the media and entertainment (M&E) sector is being driven by sector convergence and digital disruption. Sector convergence is the greatest disruption to M&E businesses, according to 31 per cent of executives surveyed. 67 per cent see digital disruption as the strongest driver for cross-sector deals. The survey results also signal an uptick in M&A in 2017.

In India, M&A activity in the media and entertainment sector registered a total of 56 deals with cumulative disclosed deal value of $1.8 billion in 2016, as against 56 deals with a total disclosed deal value of $1.2 billion in the previous year. The largest deal of the sector was $1.2 billion merger of Dish TV and Videocon D2H, which signals that consolidation is the way forward in the DTH space.

Ajay Shah, Partner, Transaction Advisory Services, Media and Entertainment, EY India, said, “During the year, digital marketing players were also high on the M&A radar, as media and e-commerce companies acquired them to gain technological capabilities and target consumers with customised advertisements. TV broadcasting was another hot segment as players in the industry made acquisitions to strengthen their presence in the rapidly growing segments of entertainment.”

Digital remains at the heart of corporate strategy in the sector. Nearly a third (31 per cent) of the executives saw the impact of digital technology on the business model elevated on the boardroom agenda over the past six months, notes the report.

In response to both sector convergence and digital disruption, M&E executives are seeking out cross-sector opportunities. Sector blurring -- companies making increasing and deeper incursions into adjacent or unrelated industries -- has become a prominent feature of the current M&A market. The strongest driver of cross-sector deals, according to 67 per cent of executives, is access to new technologies/digitisation.

More than half (56 per cent) of industry executives expect to pursue acquisitions in the next 12 months, up from 46 per cent six months ago. This appetite for deal making remains well above CCB's long-term average of 45 per cent, pointing to an upturn in M&A in the first half of 2017. Executives also expressed a high level of confidence in key deal indicators. Ninety-two per cent indicated stable-to-positive confidence in the number of acquisition opportunities, 85 per cent in the quality of acquisition opportunities and 94 per cent in the likelihood of closing acquisitions.

While 73 per cent of executives see the global economy as stable (53 per cent) or improving (20 per cent), macro-economic risks still exist. The rise of populist parties across the globe has become a rising concern for executives. Twenty-seven per cent regard political instability as the most important risk to their business in the next year; however, this is not causing M&E companies to slow down cross-border investment.

The report shows that companies are expanding geographic reach in order to gain exposure to high-growth regions and under-penetrated markets. Forty-two per cent of executives are targeting a cross-border acquisition in the coming year. The top five destinations for 2017 will be the US, France, the UK, Germany and China. Last year, before Brexit, the UK was number one, finds the report.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Advertisment