Folio Magazine has a cover feature on b2b media’s year of mergers and acquisitions.
Each media banker has a different spin on how many deals occurred in 2006 and how much was spent overall. But all agree that the market was booming. DeSilva + Phillips reports 151 transactions and a dollar volume of $20.5 billion in media transactions, making it the strongest year since 2000 (and close to that year’s total volume).
The following chart illustrates the significance of the activity very well:
Folio looked at 10 of the top deals in more detail:
• CMP Technology/United Business Media
• 1105 Media
• VNU (Renamed Nielsen)
• Penton (Prism)
• Reader’s Digest Association
• Primedia
• The Wicks Group
• Metal Bulletin
• Summit Business Media
• CondeNet
The prospects for more activity, fuelled by easy access to debt, look just as strong, says the magazine.