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With a 50-year track record and a current portfolio worth more than €600m, 3i is one of the world’s leading private equity investors in the media sector. In the last 5 years, our Buyouts, Growth and Venture Capital teams have made more than 20 investments worldwide.
Media is a dynamic, wide-ranging sector. Most of the opportunities we see fall into four areas:
- Broadcasting and entertainment – including all forms of TV, radio, internet and mobile broadcasting, the creators and owners of content, and suppliers of allied services.
- Publishing and information – ranging from newspapers, through to directories and business information.
- Marketing services – services to marketing and advertising, including market research.
- Technology – Software & hardware that enables major disruptions within large markets.
Media markets are simultaneously global and local, distinct and linked. In this complex mix, one theme stands out: technology-driven change, and its huge impact on producers and consumers. New online operators have quickly gained market share in areas like recruitment advertising and information supply, to the detriment of traditional players. Meanwhile, the proliferation of new channels enables consumers to find just what they want, when, where and how they want it – ending the mass audience and threatening traditional advertising models.
These trends bring uncertainty and will create winners and losers in every part of the sector. There is no simple recipe for success but the companies most likely to win are those which:
- Build scale and efficiency: in a market like Europe that is still dominated by regional players, there is significant scope for consolidation, particularly in the B2B segment, where language and cultural issues are less of a barrier.
- Originate or control ‘must-have’ content: as more and more channels compete for attention, consumers will choose those with the essential content – placing the content owners in powerful positions.
- Successfully move from analogue to digital: above all, businesses need to understand how to adapt their model to the digital world and migrate effectively, taking customers and revenue streams with them..
