ey can your inorganic growth strategy ... - assets.ey.com

Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era?Executing transactions amid high valuations and uncertainty in a rapidly changing TMT landscape

“M&Ahasbecomeanimperative.Gone arethedayswhenM&AwasanoccasionaloptionforbuildinggreatTMTcompanies.TherelentlesspaceoftechnologyandbusinessmodeldisruptionnowrequiresM&AtobeacontinuousandongoingelementofanyeffectiveTMTstrategy.”

Clarence Mitchell EYGlobalTMTStrategyLeader AdvisoryServices

2 | Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era?

From2014through2016,TMTM&Avaluessoared,witnessingthreestraightyearsofmorethan100dealsvaluedatover$1billion—and2017justmissedthatlevel,with95$1billion-plusdeals.Though2017TMTdealmakingremainedstrongbyhistoricalstandards,itslowedbecauseofuncertainty(geopolitical,taxpolicy,regulatory),theslowingofoutbounddealsfromChina,andtheneedtopauseanddigestdealsdoneinprioryears.

ThefindingsofEY’s17thCapital Confidence Barometer,however,giveusreasontobebullishaboutTMTM&Atocome.Overhalf(56%)ofrespondentsindicatedintenttopursueacquisitionsinthecomingyear.IndustryleadersareactivelyutilizingM&Aasacatalysttodrivegrowthandtransformation;weanticipatemoreindustry-shaping(andreshaping)dealsjustbeyondthehorizon.

SowhatisdrivingTMTM&Atoday?SeveralmacrotrendsareatplaythattendtoleadlargeTMTcompaniestoseekevengreaterscale,deepercustomerknowledgeandcomprehensiveend-to-endsolutionswhilepushingsmallerfirmstowardnichesinaparticularvaluechain.ThetoptworationalesdrivingTMTdealssince2014highlightthedriveforsolutiondepth,breadthandscale(seeFigure2,page4).

Figure 1: TMT announced deals 2014–17

2014

$899m $1,118m $1,001m $767m

2015 2016 2017

Deal volumeDeal value

Total: 2,874 announced M&A disclosed value of US$50m+

Averagedeal size

$608b $805b $763b $548b

677720

762715

Technology, media and entertainment, and telecommunications (TMT) companies’ business strategies are converging — and in flux. TMT is transforming rapidly, amid great uncertainty, as relentless innovation powers the development of new services and business models while often creating faster or lower-cost ways of doing what’s possible today.

3Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era? |

Overview Business model change and still-rising competition fuel TMT M&A

AkeythemeemerginginrecentyearsisabroadeningoftheM&Acompetitivelandscape.Gonearethedayswhentherewasaclearprofileofthelikelyacquirerforapotentialtarget.TMTcompaniesarenowattractivetargetsforbuyersacrosstheTMTsectors,aswellasincreasinglyforprivateequity(PE)firmsandnon-TMTcompaniesalike.PEhasplayedaparticularlynotable

role—thenumberof$1billion-plusTMTacquisitionswithPEsponsorsdoubledfrom2015to2016.Giventherecordlevelsofdrypowderandincreasingwillingnesstopayhighervaluations,weexpectthatcompetitionfromPEwillcontinuetobearealityforwould-beTMTacquirersthroughout2018andbeyond.

4 | Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era?

Enhance existing product and service portfolio

Gain market share in existing segment/geography

Enhance digital capabilities

Gain exposure to new geographical markets

Transform product and service portfolio

Improve customer engagement

Drive business efficiencies and cost control

Integrate/extend value chain position

Other

5443

75

4625

49

51717

131414

171111

177

53

8

55

3

73

1 Telco Media Tech

Deal rationales as % of acquirer M&A

Figure 2: Global TMT M&A deal drivers 2014–17

InadditiontothetrendsdrivingoverallTMTM&A,therearespecifictrendsdrivingcross-sectorconvergence—bothwithinandoutsideTMT.“There’shardlyacompanyleftthatdoesn’tthinktechnologyisgoingtobecoretotheirabilitytosucceedinthemarketplace,”notesClarenceMitchell,EYGlobalTMTStrategyLeader.Hence,we’reseeingdealssuchasFord’s$1billioninvestmentforamajorityofearly-stagestartupArgoAI,Walmart’s$3.3billionacquisitionofJet.com,Verizon’smultipledealsforarangeofInternetofThings(IoT)targetsand—intheotherdirection—Amazon.com’s$14.6billionacquisitionofWholeFoodsMarket.

Butthatbidirectionalmegatrendisn’ttheonlycatalystfor“convergencedeals”(seesidebar,adjacent)amongTMT’sthreesectors.There’salsothe“re-merger”ofcontentanddistribution,leadingtoconvergenceamongmediaandentertainment(M&E)andtelco;theinsurgenceoftechcompaniesintoM&E,withlargecontentappetites(andbudgets)oftheirown;andtechcompanies’appropriationoftelcocustomerdemandwithappsandservicesthat,ironically,relyontelconetworkinvestments.

Convergence deals“Convergencedeals”encompasstwotypesofgrowth-seekingM&AthathavegrowninrecentyearstobecomeacorecomponentoftheTMTgrowthagenda.

• Future-growth convergence: acquisitionsofsmall,oftenprivate,venture-backedstartupstopositionforanticipatedfuturehigh-growthmarkets.Targetstypicallypossessstrategictechnologyelements,potentiallydisruptivedigitalbusinessmodels,extremelyhard-to-findtalentorsomecombinationofthethree.

• Immediate-growth convergence:larger-scaleacquisitionstoachievemoreimmediategrowthbytargetingadjacentindustries.Targetstypicallyareincumbentsoperatingbusinessesthatcanextendfrom,orleveragetheuseof,thebuyer’scorebusinessorinfrastructure,complementingthebuyer’sexistingrevenuemodel.

32%12%

Is true vertical integration in the cards in TMT?

Telco targets as % of 2014—17 media acquirer deal value

Media targets as %of 2014—17 telco

acquirer deal value

Will non-TMT players be key competitors for assets in the future?

Non-TMT acquirers as a % of TMT deal value

15%17%

23%26%

2017201620152014

Figure 3: TMT convergence is ramping up significantly Figure 4: Deal flow between non-TMT and TMT is increasing

To paraphrase venture investor Marc Andreessen, technology companies are “eating” the world economy. But hang on: at the same time, the rest of the world wants to “eat” technology, too.

5Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era? |

Convergence along many dimensions

“Owningdemand—thecustomerrelationship—notthesupply isthekeytoverticalization.Youhavetoownthecustomerby providingatotalsolutionorownakeypieceofthevaluechain contributingtosomeoneelse’ssolution.” WillFisher EYGlobalMedia&EntertainmentSectorLeader TransactionAdvisoryServices

Take,forexample,theradicalchangestothecontentdistributionmodelthathavetranspiredinrecentyears.“Technologyhasmadeitpossibletofacilitateconvergenceofferings—especiallytheemergenceofwirelesstechnologiesaspotentialcontributionplatforms,”saysAxelMajert,EYGlobalTelecommunicationsSectorLeaderforTransactionAdvisoryServices.Customersarenolongermarriedtothetraditionallinearvaluechainandcanselectfromarangeofalternatives.SaysMajert,“thenewdistributionparadigmenablescustomerstodirectlyaccesscontentproducers,aggregatorsanddistributors,inpartdrivingtheseformsofconvergencedeals.”AsmobiletechnologycontinuesalongitsScurve,TMTconvergencedealswillberequiredtoaddresscontentdeliveryonthenextplatform—andthecyclecontinues.

OuranalysispointstothreekeydriversbehindTMTconvergencedealsinrecentyears:

• Outrunning consumer behavior—WhilemostTMTcompaniesstruggletokeepupwithshiftingconsumerbehavior,convergencedealmakersmustkeepaparticularlykeeneyeouttostayinsync.Oneexamplecomesfromthetriple-andquad-playbundlesemergingfromconvergencearoundmultichannelvideoprogramdistributors(MVPDs),telcofixedandmobileoperators,andcontent.

• Verticalization—M&Acanenabletheintegrationofacompletevaluechainalignedtocustomerdemandforaparticularcomprehensiveend-to-endsolution.Verticalizationrepresentsamergingofvaluechaincapabilitiesalongsideadrivetotailorservicestoindustry-specificcustomers.

ConsiderIoT;itspromiseistodeliveroutcomessuchasfitness,forexample,asopposedtoanactivity-trackingdevice.Deliveringtheend-to-endfitnesssolutionrequiresthatdevice,butmore:itmustbelinkedtoextensivesoftware,analyticsandmultipledatabasesinthecloud,allorientedaroundthecustomer’sgoal.

• Race for data—Anothermotivationfordealactivityisthepotentialtolaunchnewrevenue-generatingmodelsbuiltonbigdataanalyticscapabilities.Artificialintelligence(AI)systemsenablemonetizationofdataassetsthatwasnotpossiblejusttwoyearsago.InTMT,combiningcustomerdatawithexistingcontentoradvertisingassetscanyieldsignificantrevenuegrowththroughbettertargetingandpersonalization.

6 | Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era?

As potential future business models multiply and evolve, complexity, convergence and the need for scale and speed to market are all accelerating each other. A wise TMT company needs more bets on the table than can be covered by M&A alone.

2014

2015

2016

2017

69 26 64

139 63 95

168 83 104

302 126 99

MediaTech

Number of partnerships

Telco

Figure 5: Global TMT strategic partnerships by sector

Partnerships rising

That’swhyoneoftheclearestdatapointstoemergefromourresearchistherapidgrowthofstrategicalliancesandpartnershipsacrossallthreeTMTsectors.Partnershipssoaredata35%compoundannualgrowthrate(CAGR)intech,telcoandM&Efrom2014through2017toanaggregate527deals(seeFigure5).Onayear-over-yearbasispartneringannouncementsalmostdoubledin2017fortechcompanies,mediapartnershipdealsjumped52%andtelcopartnershipdealsdeclined5%.

Beyondthedata,EYhasseenaqualitativechangeinthenatureofTMTpartnerships.“Manypastpartnershipswerelooseraffiliations,”saysMitchell.“AlliancestodayinTMTarefrequentlymoresignificantandtightlyintegrated.Partnersaresharingdata,jointlydevelopingproductsandofferings,andactivelybuildingecosystemsandplatforms.Thereismorerealoperationalintegrationbetweenpartners.”

UnlikeM&A,partneringresourcescanbeadjustedupordownovertime.That’scriticalinthecurrentfast-changingenvironment,wherebusinessstrategiescanshiftrapidly.“Partnershipsareidealfororganizationslookingtodiptheirtoesinthewaterwithoutafullcommitment,”notesMitchBerlin,EYAmericasOperationalTransactionServicesLeader.

7Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era? |

Thesearehardquestionswithfewclearanswers.Evenafterdeterminingtheoptimalstrategicdirection,TMTcompaniesmustthenchooseamongawiderangeofinorganicgrowthpathstoachievetheirconvergencegoals,fromtraditionalM&Atoincubation,corporateventuringandpartnerships.

Common challengesTherearethreecommonrootcausesforfailedM&A:badstrategy,overpaymentandbotchedintegration.TMTconvergencedealsmustcontendwiththeseissues,too—andmayfindthemexacerbatedbyalackoffoundationalknowledgeinthetargetbusiness.

“Firstofall,howdoyouknowwhatyou’rebuyingorevenhowtoappropriatelyvalueacompanythatissofaroutsideofwhatyoudoeveryday?”asksBerlin.“Andwhatdoeseffectiveintegrationlooklike?Wheredoyoufallonthespectrumbetweencompleteintegrationandleavingitstand-alone?Thereisnoonerightanswertothesequestions.”

Target selectionGeneratingastrongacquisitionpipelineandpursuingtherighttargetsareparamounttoanyinorganicgrowthstrategy.Intoday’sTMTlandscape,withhyper-fluidbusinessmodelsandchangingconsumerbehavior,thiscanbeparticularlychallenging.SowhereshouldTMTcompaniesplacetheirbets?Majertnotes,forexample,that,“TelcoshaveanincrediblybroadrangeofconvergenceoptionstochoosefromintheirM&A.Somearegoingintocontentandadvertising,othersareextendingintoenterprisecloudservices,andsomehavegonequitedeepintoverticals.”

ValuationIntoday’scompetitiveTMTM&Amarket,gettingtherightassetfortherightpricerequiresmorecarefulanalysisthanever.Companiescanoptimizetheirvaluationbyconsidering—andquantifying—differentsourcesofvaluefromeachdeal.Take,forexample,asmall,loss-makingtechstartupwithsignificanttalentandintellectualproperty(IP).AnEBITDA(earningsbeforeincome,taxes,depreciationandamortization)multipleapproachalonewillnotinformthetruevalueofthebusiness.Athoughtfulacquirerwillseparatelyplacevalueonthetalent,IPandtaxattributesthatcouldgeneratevaluefromthedeal.

What types of technology and content would best complement our growth strategy?

Where are the best acquisition and partnership opportunities?

What deals might head off disruption from below or orthogonal competition from out-of-sight?

Which offer the largest and fastest revenue growth?

Which lead to the best business model of the future?

How can we use new data assets in disruptive revenue-generating models?

8 | Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era?

1

2

3

4

5

6

Getting convergence right

TMT companies face a multitude of tough questions when evaluating convergence options:

Effective integrationAsthesheerpaceofTMTchangeaccelerates,therehasneverbeenmorepressuretointegratequickly—andtoshowresults.Buttheincreasingneedformergerintegrationspeedfacesacounterpoint:manyTMTdealsrequirenewintegrationthinkingtodrivedealvalue—andcertaindealsmayrequirethrowingawaythetraditionalintegrationplaybookentirely.Settingasidedealsize,mergerintegrationchallengesgenerallyincreaseinproportiontothedifferencebetweentheacquirer’sandtarget’slegacybusinesses.

“Integrationstrategyisanessentialcomponentofassessingthepotentialbenefitsofanydeal.ThisisespeciallytrueforM&AinTMTwherethepaceofindustrialchangerequiresseamlessexecutionlongpastclosing,”saysJohnHarrison,EYGlobalMedia&EntertainmentLeader.Whethertheaimofthedealisastraditionalascosttakeoutorasnuancedasverticalization,companiesneedtodesigntailoredintegrationplansthatcanbemobilized—fast.

Let’sstartwithtraditionalTMTconsolidationsorientedaroundscaleandcost-outsynergies.Whiletheoldplaybookmaystillholdtrueformanyofthesedeals,thetimelinemustbeacceleratedtoenablerealizationofsynergiesimmediatelyfollowingthedeal’sclose.Using“cleanrooms”andadvisors,companiescanhavedetail-levelintegrationandsynergycaptureplansinplacebeforethedeal’scloseand

reportrealizedvalueimmediatelyafter.Incostsynergy-driventransactions,timeis,literally,money.

Whenpursuingamoretransformativeacquisitionoutsideanorganization’scorebusiness,companiesmuststepbackandthinkaboutthedegreeofintegrationthatwillbestenablethedeal’svaluedrivers,aswellastheidealspeedwithwhichtoachieveit.Inadealaimedatstrategicallygrowingacompany’sportfoliothroughtheadditionofawhollynewbusinessunitorgeography,itmaymakesensetotakeameasuredapproachtointegrationandgettoknoweachotherabitbeforedesigningthetargetoperatingmodelwhilestillcapitalizingonshort-termwinopportunities.

Inconvergencedealsinparticular,thekeytointegrationistwofold:

• Guardingthetarget’soperationsothatthethingsyouvaluemostaboutit—itsabilitytoinnovate,itsculture,itsconnectiontothemarketyou’retryingtoenter—don’tgetdamaged

• Effectivelyincentivizingtargetleadershipandemployeestoacceleratevaluecreationbyallthosethingsyouvalueaboutthetarget

Thecriticaldifferencetokeepinmindforconvergencedealsisthatyou’reunlikelytorealizethevalueofthedealwithoutadoptingimportantnewbusiness

behaviors.Behavioralandprocesschangescouldincludeidentifyingandincentivizingtherelativelyfewbusinessbehaviorsthattrulymakeadifferencetoasuccessfuldealoutcome;operatingmodelchangesthatpromotethekeybusinessbehaviors;andmodularintegration,becausenoteverythingneedstobeintegratedasquicklyaspossible—andperhapssomefunctionsshouldn’tbeintegratedatall.Werecommenddeterminingthedifferentlevelofintegrationfunctionbyfunction.

“Thebigthinginconvergencedealsistodesignawinningoperatingmodel—onethatbridgesthegapbetweenthetwocorporateculturesinawaythatalignseveryonebehindthestrategicgoalsoftheneworganization,”saysBrianSalsberg,EYAmericasM&AIntegrationLeader.

Forexample,ifrapidtimetomarketisastrategicgoal,thenakeybusinessbehaviortocultivatethroughtheoperatingmodelwouldbeexplicitclarityastowhointheorganizationhasdecisionrightsonproductdesign,pricingandmarketingissues,andhowquicklythosedecisionsmustbemade.Inthiscase,definingshort-termsalesgrowthtargetsmaynotevenapply,especiallyforstill-embryonicmarketssuchasAIandIoT,wherealltheusesofthetechnologymaynotyetbeclearandtargetsmaynothaveanyrealrevenuetobeginwith.

9Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era? |

ThesameinnovationdrivingTMTM&AandpartneringvirtuallyguaranteesthatTMTcompanybusinessstrategywillcontinuetochange.Companiesmustcontinuetoevaluatetheirportfoliostodeterminewhichassetswillbeaccretivetotheirfutureambitionsandwhichwillnot.

“FordiversifiedTMTcompanies,divestingbusinessesthatnolongerfitwiththecorestrategyorhavelowergrowthpotentialfreescapitalandmanagementresourcestoinvestinmoreattractiveareas,”saysHarrison.

Berlinpointsoutthat“serialdivesters”aretypicallyamongthe“healthiest”companies:“Serialdivestershaveamodelinplaceandtreattheirbusinessunitsalmostasiftheywereaprivateequityfirmmanagingportfoliocompaniesinafund.They’llanalyzetheirportfolioquarterlyorsemiannually,andmakedisciplineddecisionsaboutthevalueofaunittotheirorganization,andwhetheritmightbemorevaluabletoathirdparty.”

RecentEYresearchreinforcedthisidea,findingthatfast-growingTMTcompaniesperformedcapitalbudgetingprocessesmoreoften,comparedwithbothslow-growingTMTcompaniesandfast-growingnon-TMTcompanies.1

Inshort,intheeraofconvergenceandtechnologicaldisruption,TMTcompaniesneedtoregularlyreviewtheirportfoliosandbewillingtotakeboldactionbasedonthefindingsofthosereviews.

With advancing technology constantly making new things possible, company building is no longer a straight-line pursuit.

Divesting to grow

Non-core business

Debt reduction

Declining technology

Unattractive market

Underperforming business

Funding for acquisitions

Joint venture creation

Regulatory requirement

Attractive valuation

Shareholder distribution

22

15

12

10

10

Note: aggregate deal value is $153b, average deal value is $3.1b

Top 50 divestitures by deal value 2014–17: rationales

8

8

2

3

2 Compliance driver

Financial driver

Strategic driver

Figure 6: Business and technology imperatives drive the TMT divestiture rationale

1BarakRavid,SamuelLeiterandNinaLapachet,“Canthecapitalallocationprocessbeacompetitiveadvantage?”EY-Parthenonwebsite,parthenon.ey.com/po/en/perspectives/ can-the-capital-allocation-process-be-a-competitive-advantage.

10 | Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era?

Ventureinvestmentisseedingthousandsofstartupsdrivingongoingcyclesofdisruptivetechnologies,whileprivateequitysponsorsplayanincreasinglysignificantroleintheTMTM&Alandscape.

SuccessaccruessorapidlyintheworldofTMTthatcompaniesnotfirstorsecondtoanymarketriskirrelevance.

Meanwhile,theuncertaintiesmakedecision-making,especiallyaroundverylargecapitalallocationdecisionssuchasM&A,verychallenging,indeed.Whatismore,TMTM&Asuccesstodaysometimesmeansdiscardingtheoldmergerintegrationplaybook.Drivingdealvalueatthistransformationaltimerequiresnewthinkingandnewapproaches.

But…Does anybody think the pace of change in TMT will get slower from here?

Wedon’tthinkso.Instead,TMTcompaniescanlooktoM&Aandpartnershipsforthatmissingstrategiclinktocompleteanend-to-endsolution,forscalethroughconsolidation,geographicexpansion,convergencedealsorthekeydigitaltransformationcapabilitiestheyneed.

ConclusionTechnology-enabled disruption, business model uncertainty, record-high equity markets and cross-sector convergence are in the nature of the TMT industries today. You can’t escape them.

M&A and partnerships methodologyOurM&Adatacovers2,874announceddealsworldwidewithdealvaluesof$50millionorgreaterfrom1January2014to31December2017,andisbasedonEYanalysisofdatafromsourcesincludingThe451Group,S&PCapitalIQ,ThomsonONE.comandMergermarket.DealdrivershavebeenevaluatedthroughEYanalysisoftheannounceddealsduringthisperiod.

ThepartnershipsdataisbasedonEYanalysisofstrategicpartnershipsannouncedby82leadingcompaniesrepresentingatotalof15TMTsubsectors,selectedonthebasisofoverallandsegmentrevenuesize.Partnershipsannouncedbetween1January2014and31December2017wereevaluated.Vendor/reselleragreementsandIP/contentlicensingarrangementsinvolvingunilateralflowofmoneyareexcludedfromthepartnershipassessmentperformedbyEY.Incubatorresearchisalsobasedonthisuniverseof82TMTcompanies.

Foramoredetailedreviewandfurtherdiscussionofthedataandanalysisbehindthisreport,contactourarticlecontributorsnamedonthebackpage.

11Can your inorganic growth strategy adapt to the convergence era? |

EY |Assurance|Tax|Transactions|Advisory

About EY

EYisagloballeaderinassurance,tax,transactionandadvisoryservices.Theinsightsandqualityserviceswedeliverhelpbuildtrustandconfidenceinthecapitalmarketsandineconomiestheworldover.Wedevelopoutstandingleaderswhoteamtodeliveronourpromisestoallofourstakeholders.Insodoing,weplayacriticalroleinbuildingabetterworkingworldforourpeople,forourclientsandforourcommunities.

EYreferstotheglobalorganization,andmayrefertooneormore,ofthememberfirmsofErnst&YoungGlobalLimited,eachofwhichisaseparatelegalentity.Ernst&YoungGlobalLimited,aUKcompanylimitedbyguarantee,doesnotprovideservicestoclients.Formoreinformationaboutourorganization,pleasevisitey.com.

About EY’s Global Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications services

Digitaltechnologyinnovationiscontinuouslydisruptingorganizationsandconvergingindustries,drivingcontentdistributorsintocontentproduction,transformingtelecommunicationsprovidersintocontentdistributorsandturningtechcompaniesinalldirections.Thus,competitionisescalating,anddigitallyempoweredcustomersaredemandingmorethanever.

OurglobalTechnology,Media&Entertainment,andTelecommunications(TMT)servicescanhelpyourevampyourorganizationforthefutureandenhancecustomerexperiencesacrossallchannels.Ournetworkofmorethan38,000TMTprofessionalshelpsyounurturegrowthbybolsteringagility,operationalexcellenceandenterprisetrust.Ourbroadadvisory,assurance,taxandtransactionserviceshelpyouthriveinthisrapidlychangingenvironment—whilepreparingfordisruptionsyettocome.Findoutmoreatey.com/tmt.

©2018EYGMLimited.AllRightsReserved.

EYGno:02088-184GblEDNone

Thismaterialhasbeenpreparedforgeneralinformationalpurposesonlyandisnotintendedtoberelieduponasaccounting,taxorotherprofessionaladvice.Pleaserefertoyouradvisorsforspecificadvice.

ey.com

Contacts:

John Harrison EYGlobalMedia&EntertainmentLeader+1 212 773 6122 john.harrison@ey.com

Axel Majert EYGlobalTelecommunicationsSectorLeaderTransactionAdvisoryServices +34 917 493 303 axel.majert@es.ey.com

Will FisherEYGlobalMedia&EntertainmentSectorLeaderTransactionAdvisoryServices+44 20 7951 0432 wfisher@uk.ey.com

Clarence Mitchell EYGlobalTMTStrategyLeaderAdvisoryServices +1 212 773 8682 clarence.mitchell@ey.com

Mitch Berlin EYAmericasOperationalTransactionServicesLeaderTransactionAdvisoryServices +1 212 773 7941 mitchell.berlin@ey.com

Brian Salsberg EYAmericasM&AIntegrationLeaderTransactionAdvisoryServices +1 212 773 3462 brian.salsberg@ey.com

Adrian Baschnonga EYGlobalTelecommunicationsLeadAnalyst+44 20 7951 1724 abaschnonga@uk.ey.com