• Reuters via MSNMoney, Monday, July 17, 2006 12:06 PM

Fears that voters will put a Democrat in the White House in 2008 could spur some media-industry mergers and acquisitions, reports Reuters. "The regulatory environment is probably as favorable for deals as it is ever going to get, so companies considering deals have to be factoring that in right now," says Paul Gallant, media analyst at Stanford Washington Research Group. He expects that any major media deals will be proposed in the next six to eight months in case the Democrats win back the presidency. The Democrats are sometimes seen as more unfriendly to consolidation, although some of the biggest media mergers to date occurred on President Bill Clinton's watch. Consolidation in the media sector also provokes contentious public debate.

Read the whole story at Reuters via MSNMoney »