M&A: The story of 2015

摘要

It is sometimes comforting to find an anchor of certainty in an unpredictable world, but when it comes to M&A, 2015 was a year of few guarantees. Where and when deals will take place and who is buying and selling are questions that constantly vexed. Unfortunately, this year's only cert was for the flurry of recent deal-making to continue. By way of context, the broadcast and wider media industry has been busy. Cable and pay-TV sectors continue to consolidate, illustrated in large part by Altice's moves In Europe and the US. At the same time there were deals by acquisitive channel owners led by Discovery, Scripps, Sony and others. The latest and perhaps most intriguing is Disney's $200 million investment In Vice Media precipitating the latter's launch of its first TV channel. All this activity reflects an industry on a treadmill of innovation, facing more intense competition and a more opaque vision of the future. It in turn impacts directly on broadcast technology. Much of the deal flow is intended to realign technology providers, in almost every facet of the value chain. Their goal is to remain relevant and competitive.