Merger and acquisition activity reached a new high in 2015, both globally and in the United States—with large deals leading the way. Asia also reached a new record, with activity for the first time virtually tied with Europe as the second-busiest region for M&A.
By the numbers, more than 7,500 deals with a combined value of over $4.5 trillion had been announced as of this writing (Exhibit 1)—on track to exceed 2014 deal volume by 8 percent and deal value by 37 percent, and eclipsing the record of activity set in 2007. North American acquisitions accounted for more than 50 percent of global deals by value, while year-on-year growth of deal value in Asia over the first 11 months of 2015 exceeded the previous 11 months by nearly 60 percent.
Would you like to learn more about our Strategy & Corporate Finance Practice?
Why do many investors continue to applaud big deals? It could be a change in the types of deals. In the past, big deals were often seen as tactics to address cost reduction and industry consolidation—and many still are. But today we also see deals where managers and boards are talking about diversification and, for the first time in a long time, about revenue—about cross-selling and creating new customer opportunities, and about transformation. Some of that has always been part of the rationale for big deals, but given continuing strong announcement effects, it may be that investors are more receptive to it. Companies may also be getting better at integration and capturing deal synergies. In our observation, the discipline, professionalism, and capabilities around integration have certainly improved.
