Lowest number of media deals since 2002

The number of media deals last year fell to levels not seen since the dotcom crash of 2002, as private equity money dried up in the recession. Just 29 media deals were struck in the UK last year, a 36% year-on-year fall compared with 2008, with a value of €2.7bn (£2.39bn), according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 2008, 45 deals were struck with a total value of €4.1bn (£3.6bn). This was the lowest level of deals seen in the UK since 2002, when just 25 deals were completed with a value of €2.1bn (£1.85bn). "Trade buyers might have been expected to make a bigger splash last year given the generally low level of private equity competition," said PwC's technology, media and telecoms corporate finance partner, Andy Morgan. "But only exceptional assets were saleable and, with all but the most desperate vendors unwilling to countenance credit-crunch pricing, negotiations often ended in deadlock." PwC said it expects the market to significantly pick up this year but that there will not be the kind of "lift-off" seen in the boom years of 2006 and 2007. PwC said that it also expected traditional media companies' need to go digital to drive deals later this year. "As media businesses transcend from traditional to digital, market conditions improve and banks and companies sell off refinanced and non-core assets, we will see media mergers and acquisitions rebound this year," said PwC media partner Nick George. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".