Last year was a muted one for ad tech exits compared to the rampant activity of 2021, when the pop of champagne corks abounded with deal volume driven by initial public offerings plus mergers and acquisitions.
Investment bank LUMA Partners’ 2022 Market Report shows the number of deals in the sector almost halved — from 90 to 56. Albeit, the wider digital media and marketing category actually increased by 2%, from 400 in 2021 to 406 in 2022.
The causes for this overall drop in the number of exits are well evidenced: a downbeat global economic outlook impacting overall ad spend, unprecedented M&A and public listings in 2021.
Add to this how the decline in the valuation of those that debuted on the public markets the previous year (down 59% on average, according to LUMA Partners) led to a reduced appetite among potential suitors. Such dynamics meant that deals in the sector were either deferred or outright reconsidered. However, from the comparative low, there are dynamics starting to rekindle a potentially new flow of deals, namely the opportunities posed by the potential disruption of Big Tech.
Click the link to find out Terence Kawaja’s take on how the disruptions are affecting Ad Tech: Digiday
