Deal Tracker: Media, telecom M&A value falls to $700M in March

M&A deal value among North American media and telecom companies declined year over year and sequentially in March.

Companies in the sector struck 86 M&A transactions with a combined value of $700.0 million, marking a decline from the $16.15 billion recorded across 114 deals in March 2025, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The total deal value also fell from February, when 80 deals were announced with a combined value of $9.51 billion. No billion-dollar transactions were recorded in March.

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In the month's largest deal, an affiliate of private equity firm Pacific Avenue Capital Partners LLC completed the acquisition of Care.com Inc. from IAC Inc. for $320.0 million on March 16.

The sale of Care.com, an online marketplace for finding family care and care jobs, is in line with IAC's strategy of "monetizing non-core holdings to simplify our portfolio and enhance financial flexibility," IAC Executive Vice President, COO and CFO Christopher Halpin said.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC was financial adviser to IAC, while Moelis & Co. LLC was financial adviser to Pacific Avenue Capital.

TV station operator Community News Media LLC agreed to acquire Atlanta-based Rincon Broadcasting Group LLC from private investor Todd Parkin for $116.5 million. The transaction is subject to the Federal Communications Commission's approval.

In the third-largest deal, Bell Rose Capital Inc. completed the acquisition of 4BiddenKnowledge Inc. for over $100 million in a transaction structured as a common equity exchange. Following the acquisition, 4BiddenKnowledge became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bell Rose.

In another notable deal, Media Do International Inc., a subsidiary of Japanese e-book distribution company Media Do Co. Ltd., completed the acquisition of Seven Seas Entertainment Inc. for $80.0 million in cash.

Los Angeles-based Seven Seas is involved in the translation and publication of Japanese, Chinese and Korean manga and light novels.

Allen Family Capital LLC acquired a 10.75% stake in Starz Entertainment Corp. from Liberty 77 Capital LP for $25.0 million, paying $13.86 per share in cash for 1,803,786 shares of Starz's common stock. The transaction closed March 6.

The biggest media or telecom transaction so far in 2026 is the proposed acquisition of US outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. by an investor group comprising Mubadala Capital and TWG Global Holdings LLC for a gross transaction value of $7.83 billion. The deal would result in the investor group acquiring Clear Channel's entire outstanding common stock at $2.43 per share.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.

Investment firms Searchlight Capital Partners LP and ABRY Partners LLC's planned acquisition of all outstanding shares that they do not already own in internet-of-things connectivity services provider KORE for $726.0 million in cash, or $9.25 per share, ranks second by deal value year to date.

Cable One Inc.'s pending acquisition of a 55% stake in Mega Broadband Investments LLC from GTCR LLC for $495.0 million is the third-largest media and telecom M&A deal. It is likely to close Oct. 1.