Global M&A activity reaches US$3T in October

Global mergers and acquisitions surpassed $3 trillion (all figures are in U.S. dollars) in October, according to data from Refinitiv.

October saw $210.2 billion in M&A activity, including nine mega-deals worth $5 billion or more.

“Despite a 12% decline from this time last year, the value of M&A registered so far this year is the fourth highest year-to-date total since our records began in the 1970s,” Lucille Jones, deals intelligence analyst at Refinitiv, said in a statement.

To date, there have been 79 mega deals in 2019, accounting for $1.3 trillion (43%) of global deal activity — the highest share since 2015.

The U.S. saw the most deal activity during the month, totalling $83.5 billion. To date, the U.S. has accounted for 49% of global activity by value, the highest year-to-date share since 2000.

European M&A activity hit $44.6 billion in October, while Asia-Pacific had $38.2 billion in deals and the U.K. had $22 billion.

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