We have seen a definitive reduction in activity in H1 2022 from the most active acquirers from 2021. S4 Capital’s M&A levels have fallen as market dynamics have impacted on group valuation following a prolonged period of activity.
M&A activity from Accenture has also reduced as the focus turned to the rebranding and positioning of marketing assets under the Accenture Song banner although we have seen transactions since June 2022 in the data, ecommerce and technology spaces as their M&A pace picks up again.
The number one spot was held in H1 2022 by Havas and Together Group who both transacted on five deals in the half year period. We then saw an exciting spread of deals across various groups including multiple acquisitions made by WPP, Dentsu and Next15, from a more traditional network perspective, and a good deal activity from private equity backed strategics in the performance and wider digital space including The Stagwell Group, Brainlabs, Dept, Labelium and The Marketing Practice.
Certainly a varied and evolving landscape and we see no signs of any slowdown in the market as we move through the Summer months.