Paid Content summarizes a report from media bankhaus Jordan, Edmiston Group that puts (press release) the dollar value of mergers at $95 billion during Q3 2007, more than double the $45 billion total during the same period a year ago. This report includes recent mega-deals, such as “Thomson’s (NYSE: TOC) $18 billion acquisition of Reuters (NSDQ: RTRSY)” and “News Corp.’s (NYSE: NWS) $5.6 billion planned buyout of Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ)”.

Deal activity remains bullish in sectors, notably online, bearish in others, notably business-to-business and newspapers. Says Paid Content:  “Private equity weakness contributed to the slowdown in traditional media deals that will likely persist if credit market conditions remain weak.”