Image: Andriy Onufriyenko via Getty Images, Canva, Adweek
By Kendra Scott
After a relatively sluggish start to the year, M&A in tech, media, and advertising is picking up. While total volume hasn’t yet matched earlier projections positing that 2026 would extend the prolific dealmaking seen in the space last year, there are nascent signs that activity is accelerating. Consider Fox’s surprise $22 billion takeover of streaming device maker Roku this week, Accenture Song’s recent buyout of influencer agency Whalar, and Publicis’ $2.55 billion acquisition of data collaboration platform LiveRamp last month. Other buzzworthy recent deals include Viant’s $40 million buyout of TVision and Havas’acquisition of culture agency Archrival.
LUMA Partners’ CEO Terence Kawaja likens M&A to whale watching. “You’re sitting looking out at the ocean, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. And then bam, out comes the whale, and it breaches, and it’s fabulous, amazing.” During the first months of this year, Kawaja said, “we’ve seen a lot of whale movement towards [the surface], but then they veer off. It hasn’t quite been the bonanza that one would think.”
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