Merger and acquisition activity in the marketing communications sector is continuing to grow, new stats from M&A advisors Results International show.
Findings issued this week reveal there were 1,023 marcoms deals globally, rising from 979 in 2015 and 972 in 2014.
In Q4 2016 there were 238 marcoms deals worldwide, a slight decrease from the 279 in Q3 but still reflective of what Results International calls a “vibrant market”. There were also 39 deals in the UK in Q4, which was in line with the rest of 2016 at 15% of global deal volume.
The most acquisitive buyer globally last year was Dentsu with 43 purchases, ahead of WPP with 34.
Surprise deals, such as Accenture’s purchase of Karmarama, also shows the strong appetite from management consultancies to strengthen and broaden their capabilities, RI said.
“Deal volumes for the year have looked very strong, with the marcoms sector attracting interest from a very wide range of new and traditional buyers alike. A total of 202 different buyers made one or more acquisitions during the year,” said Julie Langley, partner at Results International.
“The ever-widening range and complexity of activities undertaken by Marcoms businesses is a significant driver in this. The slight dip in Q4 is probably due to usual market fluctuations, with no sign of slowdowns in the US or UK markets despite continuing economic uncertainty.
“Although full-service digital remains the most popular target, it’s no surprise to see content nipping at its heels. It ties in with every other part of marcoms and conversations about content are now being driven at the highest boardroom levels.
“Early indications are that 2017 will be another strong year that could easily surpass 2016. We are working on a record number of deals at present with strong buyer interest from all the major consultancy firms and emerging buyers from Asia and the US as well as the traditional buyers, so we are looking forward to seeing what 2017 has in store.”
