Media and telecom deals down due to coronavirus pandemic
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Deal volume for the media and telecom industry has slowed significantly during the coronavirus, according to the latest report from PwC.
Yes, but: Some companies, like Industry Dive, with healthy balance sheets and access to capital are still trying to find opportunistic investments.
- "We've seen this in past cycles during financial crises," says Bart Spiegel, deals partner, PwC U.S. "These times allow people to take a step back and opportunities present themselves."
Driving the news: While major deals are mostly on hold, there have been some small B2B media deals over the past few months, as companies try to find unique ways to partner and tackle future pandemic uncertainty with shared resources.
- CB Insights, a market intelligence media company, for example, acquired the data assets of VentureSource, a venture capital data tool, from Dow Jones last week.
Venture capital investment is still pouring into media niche companies.
- Wave.tv, a sports media company, raised $32 million last week.
- Religion of Sports Media, a sports media company founded by NFL veterans, raised $10 million two weeks ago.
The big picture: Deals are dwindling broadly across all industries, in part because acquirers are concerned about delays in getting deals over the finish line amid the pandemic.
Go deeper: M&A activity falls despite fears of pandemic feeding frenzy
