Deal Tracker: Clear Channel Outdoor sale dominates February media, telecom M&A

The value of M&A deals among North American media and telecom companies surged sequentially and year over year in February, led by an investor consortium's proposed acquisition of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc.

The sector recorded $9.18 billion in aggregate M&A value across 71 deals during the month, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. By comparison, companies in the sector gathered $669.3 million from 91 transactions in the previous month and $203.0 million from 109 deals in February 2025.

Mubadala Capital partnered with TWG Global Holdings LLC to acquire US outdoor advertising company Clear Channel for a gross transaction value of $7.80 billion.

The all-cash deal will see the investor group acquiring all of Clear Channel's outstanding common stock at $2.43 per share. Mubadala Capital, together with TWG, will provide equity financing, while Apollo-managed funds will invest preferred equity. Debt financing will come from a group led by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA and the Apollo funds.

Clear Channel will be delisted from the public markets following the expected completion of the deal by the end of the third quarter. The company's board unanimously approved the transaction.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Moelis & Co. LLC are advising Clear Channel on the deal, while Mubadala Capital tapped Guggenheim Securities LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as financial advisers.

Prior to the go-private transaction, Clear Channel had divested several of its businesses worldwide, including in parts of Europe and Latin America.

– Learn more about the details of Clear Channel Outdoor's go-private deal. – Read the outlook for M&A in Asia-Pacific. – Visit S&P Capital IQ Pro's Transactions Statistics page for a custom screen of M&A by industry or geography.

The second-biggest transaction was a private equity consortium's planned acquisition of internet of things connectivity services provider KORE Group Holdings Inc. for about $726.0 million in cash.

Investment firms Searchlight Capital Partners LP and Abry Partners LLC agreed to acquire all outstanding shares that they do not already own in KORE for $9.25 per share. KORE's board voted in favor of the transaction, based on the recommendation of a special board committee formed to evaluate strategic alternatives for the company.

The deal is expected to close during the second or third quarter, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Rothschild & Co. SCA is the financial adviser of the KORE board's special committee on the deal. Cowen & Co. LLC is advising Searchlight and Abry.

The management buyout of Canadian independent record label Nettwerk Music Group Inc. was the sector's third-largest deal in February.

Nettwerk's management, led by co-founder and CEO Terry McBride, with support from Los Angeles-based music distribution and publishing company Create Music Group Inc., acquired the company from its current investors. Create Capital will invest more than $300.0 million in Nettwerk as part of the deal.

The biggest media or telecom transaction over the past 13 months is Paramount Skydance Corp.'s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (WBD) for a gross value of $114.53 billion. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.

WBD agreed in late February to Paramount's improved all-cash offer of $31 per share in cash, surpassing Netflix Inc.'s offer of almost $87.00 billion in cash for selected WBD assets.

The second-biggest deal is Electronic Arts Inc.'s proposed $56.82 billion sale to an investor consortium.

Charter Communications Inc.'s planned $36.70 billion merger with Cox Communications Inc., expected to be completed in mid-2026, is the sector's third-largest transaction over the last 13 months. The companies recently secured the US Federal Communications Commission's approval for their combination.