Global telecom M&A doubles in 2024, hits $127b

It was the first time since 2021 that telecom deal value surpassed $100b.

The global telecom M&A market saw a strong recovery in 2024, with deal value more than doubling year on year to reach $127b.

In a report, Bain & Company noted this was the first time since 2021 that telecom deal value surpassed $100b.

The Americas led the surge, accounting for 62% of total deal value, as companies sought scale, digital infrastructure, and new capabilities.

One of the dominant trends in 2024 was the rise of scale deals, with telecom companies actively acquiring mobile and fixed network assets to expand their networks and geographic footprint.

Additionally, financial investors and infrastructure companies increased their investments in tower assets and data centers, despite recent economic headwinds. Infrastructure divestments also played a role, making up 19% of total deal value, whilst mobile and fixed network divestments accounted for 16%.

Among the largest telecom deals of 2024, Verizon’s $20.3b acquisition of Frontier stood out as the biggest transaction of the year.

Other major deals included Charter Communications’ $16.6b purchase of Liberty Broadband and Windstream’s $13.4b merger with Uniti.

On the infrastructure side, SBA Communications acquired 7,000 towers from Millicom for $975m, whilst Aermont Capital took over Nabiax, a data center operator in Spain, from Asterion Industrial Partners and Telefónica.

In terms of deal types, scale deals dominated, accounting for 58% of total M&A deal value in 2024, with two large transactions contributing more than half of this total.

However, infrastructure divestments played a smaller role compared to previous years, as high interest rates and macroeconomic challenges made these deals more complex.

Looking at the past five years, scale deals (39%) and infrastructure divestments (31%) have been the most significant transaction types, together comprising 70% of total deal value.