In the first six months of 2021, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the tech, media and telecom (TMT) sector totaled $555bn, according to GlobalData – that’s a huge 169% rise from the same period in 2020.The leading data and analytics company notes that, in H1 2021, the software and services sector accounted for half of overall TMT M&A activity, with total deal value hitting $278bn and deal volume reaching 278 driven by the popularity of key technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud, cybersecurity, digital media and fintech.
Snigdha Parida, analyst for Thematic Research at GlobalData, commented: “The prominence of these themes in M&A activity highlights the central role that digital tools and technologies have played in helping businesses deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. It also showcases how imperative these have been in developing new ways of both living and working. Tech is an essential part of the future, and no one wants to be left behind.”
The company’s latest report, ‘M&A in TMT Industry, Top Themes in H1 2021’, notes in that there were 481 M&A deals announced in the global TMT sector in H1 2021, with a transaction value greater than or equal to $50m. The number of deals in this sector was up sharply from H1 2020, increasing by 93%.
The impact of the global pandemic saw TMT deal value in H1 2020 collapse by 50% compared to 2019. However, there was a sharp turnaround in H2 2020 when deal value tripled to $695bn.
Further, a significant amount of M&A activity was driven by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) in both the second half of 2020 and H1 2021. Of the 481 TMT deals announced in H1 2021, 59 involved SPACs, which was up from 44 in H1 2020.
