Entertainment, Media and Communications Sector deals reached $74 billion in the second quarter, slightly below the $75 billion in the first three months of the year, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Overall deal volume was down slightly to 218 in the second quarter from 222 in the first quarter, led by AT&T’s May announcement that it would acquire DirecTV in a transaction valued at about $48 billion (not including debt).
In the report -- US Entertainment, Media & Communications Deal Insights -- PwC said it expects deal volumes to continue to rise in the second half of the year.
Private equity took a bigger interest in the sector in the quarter according to PwC – about 21% of the deals in the second quarter had a private equity acquirer, as opposed to 17% in the first quarter. According to the report, private equity was most active in the Advertising & Media, Publishing and Recreation & Leisure sectors.
