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Facing unprecedented industry transformation and emerging competitive threats, many telecommunications companies are turning to mergers and acquisitions to add new capabilities and evolve their businesses for the next era. At the same time, in the biggest industry reset since deregulation, the integrated telco is giving way to more disaggregated, narrowly focused business models. We’re tracking telecom M&A activity around the world, and we’ll publish the latest developments in this dashboard each quarter.
Here are some of the key takeaways through the first quarter of 2026.
- Deal value down: Telecom M&A activity declined in the first quarter of 2026 vs. the first quarter of 2025, despite a modest rebound from the prior quarter. Total deal value fell 18% year over year, from $16 billion to $13 billion. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa led regionally, contributing roughly 65% of total value, anchored by MTN Group’s $5.4 billion acquisition of IHS Towers. But activity remained highly concentrated, with the top five deals accounting for more than 80% of total value across 27 deals.
- Trends to watch: We anticipate that M&A activity will remain stagnant. Macroeconomic uncertainty—including high interest rates, trade and tariff risks, and regulatory challenges—presents major headwinds. In addition, telcos are placing strategic emphasis on AI, fiber networks, software-as-a-service, and asset streamlining.
- Biggest deal: MTN Group’s $5.4 billion acquisition of IHS Towers, a capital-unlocking infrastructure divestment to sharpen portfolio focus, was the first quarter’s largest deal and represented roughly 40% of total deal value.
- Divestments dominate: It’s unsurprising, then, that infrastructure divestments accounted for 53% of first-quarter deal value, totaling $7.1 billion. Still, that’s a decline from the 65%, or $10.4 billion, they contributed in Q1 2025. Scope deals gained share, rising to 23% of deal value from 11% a year earlier. The mix points to a market using divestments to free capital and refine portfolios, even as divestment activity has steadily declined since 2021.
- Long-term view: Scale and infrastructure deals, the two largest categories by value, have made up more than 70% of all deal value over the past five years.