Berkery Noyes Releases 2010 Media Industry Merger & Acquisition Trends

Berkery Noyes, a leading middle market investment bank, has released its 2010 Year End Media Merger & Acquisition Trends Report. This report analyzes M&A activity in the Media Industry in 2010 and compares it with activity in the years 2007-2009.

The median revenue multiple of transactions in 2010 rose 28%, from 1.4 in 2009 to 1.8 in 2010. The median EBITDA multiple also rose from 6.9 in 2009 to 10.4 in 2010, a 51% increase.

Transaction volume in the media industry experienced similar gains. 2010 saw 687 transactions, a 27% increase over the 542 transactions of 2009. Transaction value, however, has decreased 35% from 2009, from $37 to $24 billion of aggregate transaction value.

The decrease of transaction value may be more properly attributed to the large deals of 2009 rather than a lackluster 2010. The top four announced transactions of last year totaled over $24 billion, which included the joint venture between Comcast Corporation and General Electric’s NBC Universal, wherein Comcast contributed $13.75 billion for a 51% ownership. If these four large transactions were discounted, deal value in 2010 would represent a near $10 billion gain, or an 84% increase.

The most active acquirer by volume in the media industry between 2007 and 2010 was United Business Media Limited, which made 40 purchases, 21 of which were announced in 2010.