Tech, Media and Telecom M&A Expected to Be Active in 2026

Some of the larger U.S. wireline assets have been acquired or are in the process, said Rob Galtman, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, in an interview. As a result, there might be more M&A activity around cable. He and Fitch analyst Jeff Danforth said they see regional fiber assets that could be attractive, but nothing the size of Verizon/Frontier or AT&T/Lumen.

Galtman also noted that T-Mobile has been asked about a potential interest in cable but has indicated that it's more focused on pure-play fiber. When asked at a December UBS conference if the carrier has an interest in cable, CEO Srinivasan Gopalan said simply, "No."

Asked about the potential for wireless M&A activity, Danforth said scale is always a major priority for wireless businesses.

Summit Ridge Group President Armand Musey told us it’s uncertain whether Eutelsat and Telesat are stable, and there could be more consolidation among geostationary orbit satellite operators.

He questioned whether SpaceX CEO Elon Musk might buy or start a mobile virtual network operator, or acquire EchoStar as a way to take SpaceX public, instead of opting for a direct initial public offering. Musey also questioned whether Amazon Leo might buy Globalstar to catch up on direct-to-device service. With the D2D spectrum landscape becoming clearer, there’s a possibility that Iridium and Lynk will seek partners, he noted.

Vertical integration is also increasingly important in satellite, and not just in launch, manufacturing and operations, Musey said. Backhaul is an area where Musk lacks vertical integration and could look at fiber plays, he added.

PWC reported last month that the second half of 2025 saw numerous big telecom and media deals due to "more favorable financing conditions, strategic portfolio realignments, and a rejuvenated investor appetite for premium intellectual property." Netflix's proposed $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery marks "a defining moment" for the streaming sector, PWC said. Going forward, telecom and media should see "a robust M&A market that should outpace the last several years."

According to its most recent TMT M&A trends report, KPMG said AI will be a major driver of dealmaking across the sector, with buyers focused on infrastructure and talent. Telecom operators will also prioritize closing on recent fiber acquisitions and landing new customers using bundled offerings of fiber, fixed wireless and non-telecom services. Large tech and telecom deals especially are facing intensified antitrust scrutiny, KPMG noted.

Deloitte said its fall poll of 1,500 corporate executives in various industries, including TMT, found that significant majorities expect increased numbers of deals with higher aggregate values during the next 12 months.

Leslie Mallon, LionTree's head of public markets, said last month that the expected 2% GDP growth in 2025 and 2026 is driven in part by AI capital expenditures. M&A "megamergers are making a comeback," with 63 deals worth more than $10 billion last year. There's also far more debt financing, she noted, with Netflix and Paramount Skydance committing to tens of billions in debt in their rival bids for Warner Bros. Discovery. In addition, she said the White House's generally favorable attitude toward M&A is helping drive activity. Telecom and media have historically dominated the ranks of the largest M&A deals, with examples such as AT&T/Time Warner, and that should continue, Mallon predicted.