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With the Federal Communications Commission relaxing media ownership rules last week, the prospect of a pickup in merger activity in the sector is getting bankers excited. With as much as $30 billion worth of deals anticipated, some banks are even considering hiring media bankers for the activity that is expected to take place in the summer and for the rest of the year.
So far this year, $11 billion worth of global media acquisitions have been announced, according to Thomson, and another $30 billion could bring the sector close to matching last year's $46 billion in global media deals.
But not everyone agrees that the pickup will be dramatic, nor do bankers necessarily think that some of the large deals have anything to do with the FCC ruling. Nevertheless, some banks are hiring media bankers to fill necessary spots. In any event, there's likely to be plenty of work in asset sales.
"I think there definitely will be deals,"...