Ad Tech Briefing: The 2025 M&A rebound is back with a whimper, not a bang

At the start of the year, hopes for a return to the frothy days of mergers and acquisitions were high, but more recent deal activity has tempered expectations.

It was the prospect of a more business-friendly U.S. administration that bankers and corporate dev teams were primed for a rebound from 2023–24’s M&A lull. Early signals seemed to validate the optimism: T-Mobile kicked off a telco-led mini-spree, agreeing to buy Vistar Media for approximately $600 million and later confirming a $175 million deal for Blis — an example of a telco leaning into ad-funded diversification, contrasting with its domestic peers.  

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