For deal sourcers, staying current on private company activity is critical to spotting active buyers, tracking market trends, and uncovering emerging investment opportunities ahead of competitors.
In February alone, we added more than 1,700 new private company transactions, bringing the total to over 19,000 searchable deals across sectors, industries, and transaction types in Dakota Marketplace.
Inside Dakota Marketplace, you’ll find the transactions tab that provides structured, filterable data on deal types, values, and dates, while our editorial team curates daily updates through the dakota transactions newsletter, helping you cut through the noise and focus on what matters most.
To ensure the most comprehensive coverage of private market activity, Dakota monitors over 10,000 websites including company websites, newswires, and numerous third-party news providers to capture and verify transaction data as it happens.
Below are the top 10 communication services transactions.
- Transaction Date: 2/17/2026
- Industry: Wireless Telecommunications Services
- Type: Acquisition/Merger
- Transaction Value: $6.2B
- Participants: MTN Group Limited, IHS Holding Limited, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Latham & Watkins LLP, BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Walkers Global
MTN Group agreed to acquire IHS Towers in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $6.2 billion enterprise value, with shareholders receiving $8.50 per share — a 36% premium to the 52-week VWAP and 239% premium to the share price at the launch of IHS Towers' strategic review in March 2024. The deal, expected to close in 2026, will be funded through a combination of MTN's existing ~24% stake rollover, approximately $1.1 billion in cash from each of MTN and IHS Towers, and the rollover of existing IHS Towers debt.
- Transaction Date: 2/2/2026
- Industry: Diversified Telecommunication Services
- Type: Acquisition / Merger
- Transaction Value: $5.75B
- Participants: Latham & Watkins LLP, AT&T Inc, Lumen Technologies Inc, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
AT&T completed its $5.75 billion all-cash acquisition of substantially all of Lumen's Mass Markets fiber business, adding over 1 million fiber subscribers and more than 4 million fiber locations across 11 states to AT&T's network. The deal extends AT&T Fiber's reach to 32 states, including new major metros like Denver, Seattle, and Salt Lake City, and supports AT&T's goal of reaching more than 60 million total fiber locations by year-end 2030.
- Transaction Date: 2/18/2026
- Industry: Insurance
- Type: Diversified Telecommunication Services
- Transaction Value: $2.7B
- Participants: Nexfibre, Netomnia, Advencap (PTY) Ltd., DigitalBridge Group, Soho Square Capital, InfraVia Capital Partners, Liberty Global Ventures Group Limited, Telefonica Audiovisual Services, Barclays Investment Bank, LionTree Advisors, Morgan Stanley, TD Securities Prime Brokerage Group
Nexfibre agreed to acquire Netomnia's Full Fibre network covering approximately 3 million premises, while Virgin Media O2 will separately acquire Netomnia's retail brand YouFibre, in a transaction unlocking £3.5 billion in international investment. The deal will create the UK's largest alternative Full Fibre platform with approximately 8 million premises by end of 2027, establishing a scaled wholesale competitor to BT Openreach, with completion expected in Q3 2026.
- Transaction Date: 2/5/2026
- Industry: Interactive Media & Services
- Type: Acquisition/Merger
- Transaction Value: $1.2B
- Participants: Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Macfarlanes LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, Oakvale Capital LLP, Raine Group, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Genius Sports Limited, Legend
Genius Sports agreed to acquire Legend, a digital sports and gaming media network, for up to $1.2 billion — comprising $900 million at closing ($800 million cash and $100 million in stock) plus up to $300 million in earnouts tied to profitability and cash flow thresholds over two years. The deal, expected to close in Q2 2026, is projected to position the combined company to achieve approximately $1.1 billion in pro forma revenue and $320–330 million in Adjusted EBITDA on a 2026 annualized basis.
- Transaction Date: 2/10/2026
- Industry: Diversified Telecommunication Services
- Type: Acquisition/Merger
- Transaction Value: $1.2B
- Participants: Millicom International Cellular, NJJ Holding, Telefónica S.A.
Telefonica sold its Chilean unit to NJJ Holding and Millicom for $1.2 billion, with an additional contingent payment of up to $150 million depending on certain market events, as part of the Spanish telecom's broader exit from Latin America to focus on its core markets in the UK, Germany, Spain, and Brazil. The divestiture adds Chile to a growing list of Telefonica's Latin American exits that includes Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.
- Transaction Date: 2/18/2026
- Industry: Interactive Media & Services
- Type: Acquisition / Merger
- Transaction Value: $1.2B
- Participants: eBay Inc, Etsy
eBay agreed to acquire Depop from Etsy for approximately $1.2 billion in cash, adding the mobile-first C2C fashion resale marketplace — which generated roughly $1 billion in GMS in 2025 with nearly 60% U.S. year-over-year growth — to its portfolio. The deal, expected to close in Q2 2026, deepens eBay's reach with Gen Z and Millennial consumers and advances its fashion recommerce strategy, while Etsy plans to use proceeds for share repurchases and reinvestment in its core marketplace.
- Transaction Date: 2/18/2026
- Industry: Diversified Telecommunication Services
- Type: Acquisition/Merger
- Transaction Value: $1.18B
- Participants: Liberty Global plc, Vodafone Group PLC, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, LionTree Advisors
Liberty Global agreed to acquire Vodafone's 50% stake in Dutch telecom joint venture VodafoneZiggo for €1.0 billion in cash and a 10% equity interest in a new Benelux holding company called Ziggo Group, which will consolidate Liberty Global's interests in VodafoneZiggo and Telenet. The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2026, sets the stage for a planned Euronext Amsterdam listing of Ziggo Group in 2027 and a subsequent spin-off of 90% of shares to Liberty Global shareholders.
- Transaction Date: 2/27/2026
- Industry: Wireless Telecommunication Services
- Type: Buyout/Private Equity
- Transaction Value: $726M
- Participants: KORE Group Holdings Inc, Rothschild & Co., Searchlight Capital Partners, Abry Partners, Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, TD COWEN
Searchlight Capital Partners and Abry Partners agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of KORE Group Holdings not already owned by them in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $726 million, at $9.25 per share — representing a 132% premium to KORE's closing price prior to Searchlight and Abry's initial acquisition proposal. The deal, expected to close in Q2 or Q3 2026, will take the IoT connectivity and solutions provider private, with the transaction having been unanimously approved by a Special Committee of independent directors following a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives.
- Transaction Date: 2/23/2026
- Industry: Diversified Telecommunication Services
- Type: Growth Equity
- Transaction Value: $500M
- Participants: Hamilton Lane, Braemont Capital, Delta-V Capital, Bank Street Holdings, Hogan Lovells US LLP, Cruz-Abrams Seigel, LLC, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Braemont Capital, Hamilton Lane, and Delta-v Capital led a $500 million investment in Vero Networks, a fiber infrastructure and broadband provider, to accelerate the company's expansion of its fiber-to-the-premise and wholesale fiber networks as well as strategic M&A across U.S. markets. The financing will support Vero's growth across residential, enterprise, government, and hyperscale end markets as the company continues building out its national fiber platform.
- Transaction Date: 2/11/2026
- Industry: Diversified Telecommunication Services
- Type: Acquisition/Merger
- Transaction Value: $297M
- Participants: Lape Mansfield Nakasian & Gibson, LLC, Everest Infrastructure Partners Inc., Commnet Wireless, Rothschild & Co.
ATN International agreed to sell a portfolio of 214 Southwestern U.S. towers held by its Commnet Wireless subsidiary to Everest Infrastructure Partners for up to $297 million in cash, with an initial closing expected in Q2 2026 generating approximately $250–$270 million in gross proceeds. ATN intends to use approximately $70 million of initial proceeds to repay borrowings under its CoBank revolving credit facility, with remaining proceeds directed toward debt reduction and reinvestment in existing operations.
At Dakota, we understand how important it is to stay current on deal activity as it happens. That’s why our editorial team continuously monitors the news for real-time updates on platform investments, add-ons, divestitures, and more to deliver daily highlights straight to your inbox through our transactions newsletter.
Inside Dakota Marketplace, the transactions tab provides structured, filterable data with deal dates, types, sectors, and financials, allowing you to build a customized feed that aligns with your focus areas.
Whether you're evaluating a new investment opportunity or tracking trends within a target sector, Dakota Marketplace helps you cut through the noise and focus on what matters most.
For more information on these transactions and a deeper dive into their industries and sub-industries, book a demo of Dakota Marketplace.
