2024 started off with a modest improvement in dealmaking, despite a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty. In comparison to the end of 2023, there has been a noticeable pickup in M&A dialogue during the first few months of 2024, signaling a potential return to a more normalized deal environment.
In our coverage areas, Q1 2024 deal volume was up +2% from the prior quarter, as strong Ad Tech and Digital Content deal activity more than offset lower MarTech activity. Scaled deal activity (>$100mm) matched a strong Q4 2023 and was largely driven by strategic buyers, a sign that opportunities for inorganic growth to acquire scarce, quality assets remain attractive. Coming off a strong public market performance in 2023, LUMA indices Q1 2024 performance was mixed; the LUMA.A cohort exceeded equity market benchmarks and more than offset a challenging Q1 for the LUMA.M cohort.
Private financing activity was relatively subdued as investors remained hesitant to deploy large pools of capital in the VC space. That said, there continues to be an abundance of dry powder in the private markets that investors are actively looking to deploy into high-quality supply.
M&A Activity Highlights
- Q1 2024 deal volume was slightly up +2% from Q4 2023, as robust deal activity in Ad Tech and Digital Content more than offset slightly lower MarTech deal activity from a strong end of 2023.
- Scaled deal activity (>$100mm) of 19 deals in Q1 2024 was in line with a strong Q4 2023 and was largely driven by strategic buyers – accounting for more than 75% of the scaled deal activity in the quarter.
Public Markets & LUMA Indices Highlights
- The LUMA.A indices +18% exceeded market benchmarks (S&P +10%, Nasdaq +9%) as ~65% of the cohort traded up from the end of 2023, while the LUMA.M cohort started the quarter strong, but ended down (6%) largely driven by lower than expected growth outlooks announced during Q4 earnings releases that began in late February.
- Despite mixed public market reactions, Q4 2023 was another quarter of Ad Tech and MarTech names mostly beating revenue and EBITDA consensus estimates from an earnings perspective. Q1 2024 marked the ninth straight quarter of stabilized public market valuations.
Download the full report to get all the data on Ad Tech, MarTech, and Digital Content, including the following:
- Quarterly deal activity by sector
- Public market trends and the latest earnings details for Ad Tech and MarTech
- Public valuation and operational benchmarking across Ad Tech and MarTech
- Highlighted private financing activity across the sectors
