Media M&A news: media mergers and acquisitions in 2026
Every media merger, acquisition, take-private and carve-out we have verified in 2026, newest first. Updated every morning.
Paramount Skydance (now Skydance Corp.) → Warner Bros. Discovery$110bnFox Corporation → Roku, Inc.$22bnMubadala Capital → Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings$6.2bnMittal family (Westview Cricket) and Adar Poonawalla → Rajasthan Royals (Royals Sports Group)$1.7bnApollo Global Management → Emerald Holding, Inc. and Questex$1.5bnClearlake Capital → Chelsea FC (Boehly and Walter stakes)$1.3bnAxel Springer SE → Telegraph Media Group$767mI Squared Capital (OOH BidCo) → oOh!media Limited$730mNine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited → QMS Media$596mNational CineMedia → Captivate$275mNippon Television Holdings, Inc. → KANAMEL Inc.$235mKingdom Holding Company → Al-Hilal Club Company (70%)$224m
26Deals tracked
$146.2bnDisclosed value
$110bnLargest deal
17Completed
Media M&A news: media mergers and acquisitions in 2026
- 14 Oct 2026Roku and Fox shareholders back US$22bn streaming mergerFox Corporation → Roku, Inc.Media / StreamingIn review$22bn
- 14 Oct 2026Mubadala Capital completes $6.2bn take-private of Clear Channel OutdoorMubadala Capital → Clear Channel Outdoor HoldingsMedia / Out-of-home advertisingCompleted$6.2bn
- 6 Oct 2026Paramount completes US$110bn takeover of Warner Bros. DiscoveryParamount Skydance (now Skydance Corp.) → Warner Bros. DiscoveryMediaCompleted$110bn
- 24 Sept 2026Cartel office clears Holtzbrinck's full takeover of Die ZeitVerlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck → Zeit Verlagsgruppe (50% stake)MediaCompletedUndisclosed
- 16 Sept 2026Clearlake takes full control of Chelsea in £950m buyout of co-ownersClearlake Capital → Chelsea FC (Boehly and Walter stakes)Media / SportsAgreed$1.3bn
- 14 Sept 2026Thryv sells print directories to CarolwoodCarolwood LP → Thryv print directories businessMedia / PublishingAgreedUndisclosed
- 19 Aug 2026EQT agrees to take majority stake in Melbourne StormEQT (Mid-Market Opportunities) → Melbourne Storm (majority stake)Media / Professional sportAgreedUndisclosed
- 11 Aug 2026National CineMedia buys Captivate for US$275mNational CineMedia → CaptivateMedia / AdvertisingCompleted$275m
- 10 Aug 2026I Squared agrees A$1.04bn takeover of oOh!mediaI Squared Capital (OOH BidCo) → oOh!media LimitedMedia / Out-of-home advertisingAgreed$730m
- 10 Aug 2026WEBTOON agrees KRW 150bn deal for control of RI GamesWEBTOON Entertainment Inc. → RI Games Holdings Inc.Media / Video gamesAgreed$106m
- 6 Jul 2026CVC agrees to buy majority of music distributor DistroKidCVC Capital Partners (CVC Capital Partners IX) → DistroKidMedia / Music distributionAgreedUndisclosed
- 27 May 2026Advaya buys Comscore's movie data unit for US$70mAdvaya Capital (Flix Buyer Inc.) → Comscore Movies and Hollywood SoftwareMedia / Box office dataCompleted$70m
- 21 May 2026TruFin agrees £125m sale of Balatro publisher PlaystackIntegrated Media Company (VantageCo Limited) → Playstack Limited (TruFin's 84.5% stake)Media / Video game publishingCompleted$168m
- 13 May 2026Akatsuki takes control of Sunny Side Up in IP mergerAkatsuki Inc. → SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Inc.Media / PR and entertainment IPCompleted$80m
- 11 May 2026Apollo takes Emerald private in US$1.5bn events roll-upApollo Global Management → Emerald Holding, Inc. and QuestexMedia / B2B eventsCompleted$1.5bn
- 3 May 2026Mittals and Poonawalla agree US$1.65bn deal for Rajasthan RoyalsMittal family (Westview Cricket) and Adar Poonawalla → Rajasthan Royals (Royals Sports Group)Media / Sports franchisesIn review$1.7bn
- 30 Apr 2026Sanoma buys Vicens Vives for €40mSanoma Corporation → Vicens VivesMedia / Educational publishingCompleted$47m
- 16 Apr 2026Kingdom Holding agrees SAR840m deal for 70% of Al-HilalKingdom Holding Company → Al-Hilal Club Company (70%)Media / Professional footballCompleted$224m
- 14 Apr 2026TPG agrees to buy college sports media group LearfieldTPG (TPG Capital and TPG Sports) → LearfieldMedia / Sports media and technologyAgreedUndisclosed
- 25 Mar 2026LY Corporation takes control of Kakao GamesLY Corporation (via LAAA Investment) → Kakao Games Corp.Media / Video gamesCompleted$200m
- 23 Mar 2026Primary Wave agrees to buy KobaltPrimary Wave Music → Kobalt Music GroupMedia / Music publishingCompletedUndisclosed
- 19 Mar 2026Nippon TV agrees ¥37bn buyout of production group KANAMELNippon Television Holdings, Inc. → KANAMEL Inc.Media / Advertising and content productionCompleted$235m
- 10 Mar 2026Rostam Aziz's Taarifa agrees to buy control of Nation Media GroupTaarifa Ltd (Rostam Aziz) → NPRT Holdings Africa Limited (54.08% of Nation Media Group PLC)Media / Publishing and broadcastingCompletedUndisclosed
- 6 Mar 2026Axel Springer agrees £575m deal for the TelegraphAxel Springer SE → Telegraph Media GroupMedia / NewspapersCompleted$767m
- 30 Jan 2026Nine agrees A$850m deal for QMS MediaNine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited → QMS MediaMedia / Outdoor advertisingCompleted$596m
- 5 Jan 2026Universal Music takes 30% of Bollywood studio ExcelUniversal Music Group → Excel EntertainmentMedia / Film and musicCompleted$80m