Pandemic-resilient sectors soar, led by TMT and healthcare deals

We are seeing something of a two-speed recovery in transactions, at a sector level.

Those industries that proved highly resilient during the pandemic are witnessing phenomenal growth in M&A activity.

Telecoms, media and technology (TMT), for example saw a giant 321% increase in deal value during the first half of the year, and a 43% increase in activity. Standout strategic deals include Amazon’s USD8.5 billion acquisition of the MGM film studios and AT&T’s decision to spin off its media content division, WarnerMedia, into a merger with Discovery to create a powerful challenger to Netflix and Disney+ in the streaming market.

Similarly healthcare deal value soared by 264%, although the accent here remains on a higher number of substantial transactions rather than the megadeals that dominated the sector several years ago.

By contrast, sectors hardest hit by the crisis are growing at a slower pace. The value of real estate deals increased by 97%, despite there being a mere 3% growth in transactions, while in consumer and retail deal value grew by 40%.

Financial services, meanwhile, was one of the quietest sectors, with deal value up by just 29% on a 21% increase in volume.