2018 M&A activity sees high value and fewer deals

The value of global M&A in 2018 increased to the highest level since 2015, despite a decline in volume. Following a strong first half to the year, the latter part of 2018 was quieter.

The volume and value of announced M&A in 2018 consisted of 97,709 deals worth a total of $5,303,713 million. In terms of value, that makes 2018 the second best year since 2013, although it is also the lowest volume seen since that year.

Some of the top deals included the acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company ($85,100 million) and T-Mobile US’s acquisition of Sprint Corporation for $59,000 million, as well as Comcast’s acquisition of Sky for $47,879 million.

The top target country by value and volume was the US, which attracted 19,386 deals worth $1,680,653 million. The next four countries by value of deals were China, the UK, Germany and Spain, while Japan edged its way into the top five by volume with 3,949 deals.

Private equity continues to grow, and 2018 saw the highest deal value in the last six years, worth $825,766 million. Top targets included Thomson Reuters Corporation’s financial and risk business in Canada, Ant Financial Services Group in China, and Johnson Controls International’s power solutions division in Ireland; all three surpassed $13,000 million.

View our Global M&A Review 2018

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