Ad market braces for M&A surge

Could the time be right for a fresh surge of mergers and acquisitions across the media landscape? Some in the dealmaking business seem to think so. 

To some degree that activity has already begun – Publicis bought a small consultancy in March called Spinnaker SCA, while just last week in Europe, Mediaplus acquired Target Media and media advisory MediaSense bought PwC’s U.K. consultancy. On a smaller scale, CG Life recently bought digital health marketing agency Toolhouse. 

There’s more to come, as a few companies vie to acquire media giant Paramount, which controls CBS, several cable networks (MTV Nets and Showtime, among others) and a production studio. The most serious suitor, Skydance Media sweetened its offer last week while rival studio Sony Pictures, supported by Apollo Global Management, has backed off from its offer.   

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