h2 2020 | media talk
media talk | h2 2020 15
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UK MEDIA M&A HOT SECTORS
Events management unsurprisingly felt the full force of the COVID-19 outbreak. But early in the year, SMi Group, a company specialising in global events for the aerospace, defence and pharmaceutical sectors, was acquired by US-based SAE International, a professional association for engineers which operates internationally. Financial details of the deal, which allowed SAE international to merge SMi Group with its publication arm, Tech Briefs, were not released. Later on in 2020, deals were thin on the ground in the events space, though some buyers continued to build their portfolio. In November Pageant Media, a provider of global business information and events, acquired Falk Margues Group, a conference and networking company specialising in promoting the advancement of women in the private equity, venture capital and alternative investment worlds. Financial details were not disclosed. For events management, the acceptability of large gatherings in a post-vaccine world will determine the rate at which the sector as a whole can return to growth in coming years.
At this point, consolidation looks like a structural necessity. Traditional publishing is already a capital-intensive realm and substantial capital is required to undertake digital transformation. Early in 2020, struggling owner JPI Media – the UK’s third- largest regional newspaper publisher – had suggested that it was no longer in search of a buyer, though it continued to divest assets: in October, Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) acquired its printing operations in Dinnington, Portsmouth and Carn. But then, at the very end of the year, National World, a takeover vehicle headed by previous Mirror Group chief executive David Montgomery, announced that it had acquired JPI Media for around GBP £10.2 million. National World has set its sights on developing a ‘sustainable local online news publishing model’ that will benefit not only from JPI Media’s long-established brands but also from its prior efforts in digitalising a handful of top titles.
FIGURE 4: UK MEDIA M&A TRANSACTIONS BY SUBSECTOR 2020
Events management 2%
Marketing services 10%
Broadcasting and content 27%
Digital media 18%
Advertising 18%
Publishing 25%
BROADCASTING AND CONTENT M&A PICKED UP IN H2 2020, JUST AHEAD OF PUBLISHING. MARKETING SERVICES AND ADVERTISING COMBINED ACCOUNTED FOR 28%OF ALL DEALS.
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