• January 10, 2013

M&A activity in digital media, commerce and technology increased in 2012, reports Coady Diemar Partners. Over 1,100 M&A deals were announced in 2012 compared to 652 in 2011, a 70% increase in deal activity. The uptick in the digital advertising and ecommerce markets and the emergence of mobile are credited with the growth. Some $113 billion of digital M&A transactions were announced in 2012 compared to $116.7 billion in 2011 -- a decrease of 2.9%, largely reflecting a smaller average deal size in 2012. No transactions greater than $5 billion in 2012 compared to three in 2011, per Coady. The largest three transactions were Cisco, Dentsu and SAP America. The most active acquirer in 2012 was WPP with 30 announced acquisitions.