Q2 2021: media and entertainment consolidation in the spotlight

The continued ascent of streaming is fuelling further consolidation in the media and entertainment space, with two noteworthy deals announced in May 2021: AT&T’s spinoff of WarnerMedia to merge with Discovery (under the terms of which AT&T said it would receive USD 43bn) and Amazon’s USD 8.5bn acquisition of MGM. These represent a sliver of industry M&A over recent years, with deal values topping USD 700bn since 2014.* They are nonetheless important signals of how the industry is evolving and the forces at play.