The vast majority of telecom, media and entertainment (TME) execs in the U.S., Europe and Asia (84%) expect to see more cross-sector mergers and acquisitions in the next two years as companies converge beyond their core businesses, a survey of 100 senior technology executives has found.
The forecasted activities include cable ops creating quadruple plays of TV, broadband, fixed and mobile telephony, and technology companies like Apple and Amazon offering products and services far beyond their original businesses, according to the survey, conducted by Mergermarket on behalf of law firm Reed Smith.
Tech companies have been the most targeted, accounting for 48% of the cross-sector purchases in 2014, the survey said.
Among the key findings: Entertainment companies are the most willing to reach beyond the core, with 33% planning to make a non-entertainment purchase, and cross-sector also increasingly means cross-border, with 67% saying their next purchase was likely to be outside their home country.
And all that merging comes with a price: 23% of the respondents said they expect increased convergence "to drive creative disruption for business models in the technology and media/entertainment sectors."
