The SektorReport TMT is now called IT & Media, and we are expanding our research team:
In this issue, our Senior Advisor Prof. Dr. Jochen Mackert—an expert on digitalization at DHBW Karlsruhe, with whom we previously co-authored the research paper “Trendwatch Software: The Software Sector in Transition” joins us for the first time.
You can find his assessments of digital sovereignty in the expert commentaries in Sector Insight starting on page 3 and in the Deal Report.
The last SektorReport TMT focused on the digitalization of public administration. This time, under the new sector title “IT & Media,” the spotlight is on a question that has come to shape many guidelines in this field: How sovereign is a provider, and can it prove it?
By 2026, digital sovereignty has evolved from a buzzword into a verifiable criterion. The German federal government awarded its AI cloud contract without involving any of the major U.S. cloud providers; the European Commission evaluates cloud offerings based on fixed trust levels; and in the Netherlands, the acquisition of a cloud service provider by a U.S. corporation was prohibited.
The M&A market remains active, albeit at a somewhat slower pace: Mergermarket recorded 878 transactions in the IT & Media sector across Europe in the third quarter, down from 936 in the previous quarter. The median of published transaction multiples fell from 12.3x to 11.5x EV/EBITDA. The publicly traded peer group is valued at 9.8x EV/EBITDA, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter (9.9x).
In the Sektor Insight, we show how ownership structure affects enterprise value: Verified proof of ownership opens up markets and builds customer loyalty, but an unsuitable buyer can jeopardize this access with a change in ownership. Buyer selection thus becomes part of value preservation. For the first time, Prof. Dr. Jochen Mackert from DHBW Karlsruhe joins us to share his assessment. Read more on page 3 of the SektorReport IT & Media Q3 2026.
The Deal Report focuses on adesso’s acquisition of the Berlin-based AI claims platform omni:us. It demonstrates that strategic buyers are specifically acquiring controlled AI for regulated core processes. Read more on page 8 of the SektorReport IT & Media Q3 2026.
Our SektorReports are available in German language. If you have further questions regarding this topic, feel free to get in touch.