New York—M&A value in the media and marketing industries was $29.4 billion in the first half of the year, up 2% from the year-earlier period but down a steep 37% from $47.4 billion in the second half of last year, according to a report from investment bank Berkery, Noyes & Co. The number of mergers and acquisitions decreased 8% to 794 in the first half from 863 in the same period last year but dropped less than 1% from 800 deals in the second half of last year. The largest transaction in the media and marketing industry in the first half occurred in the B2B Publishing and Information segment—BC Partners' acquisition of Springer Science & Business Media for $4.42 billion.