Telecom M&A Up Big in 2021; Fiber Altnet Deals Expected: Bain

Telecom industry M&A activity had a big bounce in 2021, with deal value up 48% from the year before, Bain & Co. said Tuesday. Scale deals, such as in-country consolidation, were the bulk of telecom M&A, it said, noting Rogers Communications' $21 billion acquisition of Shaw Communications. Infrastructure M&A, especially of tower and fiber assets, "is skyrocketing," it said. It predicted ongoing scale deals in Latin America and Asia-Pacific and particularly growth in Europe. It said a "potential hot area" for scale acquisitions is maturing fiber alternative network assets. It said there could be a wave of fiber altnet consolidation "reminiscent of the cable roll-ups" popular 20 years ago, due to abundant capital, overbuilds and incumbents wanting growth.