During the second quarter, merger, acquisition and investment activity in the marketing, information and digital media industries grew 11% over the previous quarter, according to investment bank Petsky Prunier.
Aggregate transaction value increased 39% – primarily due to Pearson's $3.4 billion sale of Interactive Data Corp. to Silver Lake Partners and Warburg Pincus, according to Petsky.
Marketing technology was the most active segment with 69 transactions, while software and information, with $5 billion in deal value, was the highest value segment, Petsky continued.
Strategic buyers accounted for the largest portion of overall activity, with 121 transactions (54% of the quarter's total) worth an estimated $5.4 billion (44% of the total), according to Petsky.
Venture and growth capital investors made 93 transactions for $1.1 billion, with nearly three quarters of the activity concentrated in the marketing technology and digital media segments. While only 10 private-equity buyout transactions were made, those deals accounted for $5.8 billion in value, according to Petsky.
