Global dealmaking topped $1T this quarter

For only the second time on record, global dealmaking values topped $1 trillion in the third quarter, a sign that blockbuster M&A is back on the menu, per Bloomberg.

Monday’s announcement that Electronic Arts would go private in a $55 billion buyout clinched the $1T milestone, but megadeals have come fast and furious from a wide variety of sectors this summer.

• Railroads: Union Pacific agreed to buy Norfolk Southern for more than $80 billion, including debt.
• Cybersecurity: Palo Alto Networks is acquiring CyberArk for about $25 billion.
• Consumer: Keurig Dr Pepper is taking over coffee purveyor JDE Peet’s for over $18 billion.
• Mining: Anglo American will buy Teck Resources in a $50 billion deal.

Over the three-month stretch this summer, 14 deals globally were valued at over $10 billion, per the London Stock Exchange Group.

An M&Azing year

Total dealmaking values are up 27% this year over the same period in 2024, as companies that had been sitting on the sidelines are finally pouncing on their targets in a calmer market.

Charles Ruck of Latham & Watkins, who advised EA, CyberArk, and other companies on their deals, told the FT this was the busiest he’s been since the SPAC boom in 2021. Because when it comes to dealmaking, executives get FOMO: “M&A is infectious: the CEO of company A does a big deal and then the CEO of company B starts thinking maybe I need to do something,” Ruck said.

Big picture: Curiously, while the size of deals has gone way up, the number of deals has held steady. Bloomberg notes that the number of transactions announced this year is essentially flat compared to the same point last year, suggesting smaller companies are still hesitant to make big moves.

Still, investment banks aren’t complaining, because bigger deals mean higher fees. They’ve raked in more than $95 billion in fees in the first nine months of the year, the second highest YTD total on record.—NF