UK TMT sector the most active for M&A activity in 2023

Analysis of deal activity across the UK shows the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) sector saw the most activity in 2023 with 955 deals, accounting for just over a quarter of transactions, according to PwC’s latest Global M&A Trends 2024 Outlook.

While TMT led the way in industry deals, overall the total number of sector deals is down 2% year-on-year. This is far below the 17% fall overall. Industrial Manufacturing and Automotive followed with 899 deals with Consumer Markets completing the top three sectors with 755 deals.

The TMT sector achieved £14bn in deal value in 2023, the third highest industry total behind Energy, Utilities and Resources - £18.2bn and Financial Services - £18bn. TMT’s total deal value is down more than half (53%) compared to the previous year's figure of £29bn. 

Jonathan Cooper, PwC UK TMT Deals Partner said:

“M&A activity in the TMT industry has remained resilient as many companies within the sector drive business efficiency through digital transformation, thereby remaining attractive to both their customers and financial investors alike. Also, the rapid advancements of technologies such as Generative AI continues to drive interest and activity.

“As economic conditions continue to improve we expect TMT to remain active from an M&A perspective, with transactions at the upper end of the scale coming back into the market." 

Deals environment stabilising as appetite remains

In general, UK M&A activity in 2023 fell below the levels seen the previous year, as economic headwinds continued to affect the number of deals completed in the year. However, activity rates for 2023 were still at pre-pandemic levels and as economic conditions ease, confidence is expected to return to the market.

In total, the UK saw 3,628 deals across 2023, compared to 4,362 the previous year, a 17% decline. The volume of activity in H2 2023 was the second-lowest in the last five years, next to the first half of 2020, which was affected by a slump in dealmaking early in the pandemic. There was a total of £46bn worth of UK deals in H2 2023 compared to £42bn in H1, bringing the total deal value for the year to £88bn. However, full year deal value in 2023 was down 41% compared to almost £150bn in 2022.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors: 

PwC’s Global M&A Industry Trends is a semi-annual analysis of global deals activity across eight industries — consumer markets, energy, utilities and resources, financial services, health industries, industrial manufacturing and automotive, private capital, real estate, and technology, media and telecommunications. We have based our commentary on data provided by industry-recognised sources. Specifically, values and volumes referenced in this publication are based on officially announced transactions, excluding rumoured and withdrawn transactions, as provided by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) as of 31 December 2023 and as accessed on 3 January 2024. This has been supplemented by additional information from Preqin, S&P Capital IQ and our independent research. Certain adjustments have been made to the source information to align with PwC’s industry mapping.

UK M&A values were converted to GBP using the GBP/USD 2023 average rate of 1.244