Deal Tracker: North America media, telecom M&A values collapse in January

U.S. and Canadian media and telecom companies in January struck 113 M&A deals with an aggregate value of $150.0 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The sector's total deal value marked a massive decline from the $97.80 billion aggregate value of 179 transactions recorded in January 2022.

Aggregate transaction value in the sector also fell sequentially from $1.40 billion in December 2022, when 105 deals were announced.

* Visit S&P Capital IQ Pro to learn more about January's biggest U.S. media or telecom deal. * Run a custom screen of M&A by industry or geography on our Transactions Statistics page.

The sector's biggest and only hundred-million-dollar transaction last month was Global Tech Industries Group Inc.'s acquisition of content distribution platform provider Creatd Inc. for $110.9 million. Talks about the deal started in late December 2022, with the binding letter of intent to acquire signed Jan. 10. Creatd is tied to an extended no-shop period for other offers until March 7.

TGS Esports Inc.'s pending $14.5 million acquisition of esports media and entertainment company Midnight Gaming Corp. was the second-largest deal in January.

Microsoft Corp.'s proposed $79.59 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc., which is facing regulatory challenges in the U.K. and the U.S., still leads the unchanged list of top 10 media and telecom deals by aggregate transaction value since January 2022.