Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) dealflow in the European media sector is set to return in 2004, according to the latest Media Insights report from PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance.

The report predicts deal values will reach €20bn ($25.7bn), while the number of transactions is anticipated to exceed 100. This outlook follows an improved performance in 2003 - particularly in the second half of the year when deal values breached the €10bn level and deal numbers hit the 50 mark.