In Dealmaker's Digest, read the top 10 latest developments in global transactions. We offer insights into M&A activity across industries and borders. To receive our M&A thought leadership, please join our mailing list.
Key Takeaways
- Annual global M&A activity in 2024 rebounded significantly from 2023's sluggish deal landscape. Aggregate value of transactions ($100m+) increased 14% across all buyer types, with sponsor-led deals jumping 36% year-over-year.
- Crossborder transactions played a key role for dealmakers in 2024. Inbound U.S. transactions, totaling nearly $350B, jumped 21% from 2023, while outbound U.S. activity rose 18% (surpassing $430B for the year).
- More mega-deals were struck in 2024 compared with 2023; more than 25 U.S. transactions exceeded $10B in value, a 23% increase.
Global M&A Activity Update
1. Deal Value Trends
Aggregate global monthly deal
value1 decreased moderately in December, down about $20
billion (6%) from November. Total monthly deal value decreased 15%
year-over-year.
Transactions involving strategic
buyers in December also declined in value (7%) from November.
Strategic deal value in December dropped 25% year-over-year.
Financial, or sponsor, buyer
transactions in December held steady, decreasing only 4% from
November, rounding out a comparably steady Q4 for sponsor
acquisitions. Sponsor buyer deal value increased 7%
year-over-year.
2. Deal Count Trends
Global deal count held steady
from November to December, ticking up 4%, and rounded out the most
active quarter by count for the year. Monthly deal count increased
16% year-over-year.
Strategic buyer deal count in
December increased moderately, up 6% from November and 11%
year-over-year.
Sponsor buyer deal count in
December remained steady month-over-month, decreasing just 1% from
November. However, sponsor deal count rose dramatically (28%)
year-over-year.
3. Annual Global M&A Activity (Transactions $100M+)
- M&A activity increased in 2024 by nearly all metrics as dealmakers seized opportunities amid more favorable transacting conditions, including consecutive interest rate cuts and tampered inflation.
- Aggregate value of transactions $100m+ increased significantly in 2024 compared with 2023, up 14% across all buyer types. Aggregate value of sponsor buyer deals led the increase with a 36% jump, while strategic acquisitions held steady, up just 4%.
- The number of transactions valued at $100 million or greater increased 6% globally in 2024 vs 2023. Sponsor acquisitions jumped 24% by count, while acquisitions by strategic buyers held steady (declining a marginal 3%).
- The uptick in 2024 M&A activity was a noticeable rebound following consecutive declines in dealmaking since 2021's $6.4 trillion record.
4. Annual U.S. Crossborder Activity
- Inbound U.S. activity in 2024 jumped 21% by deal value from 2023 and held steady by deal count (declining just 3%). The value of U.S. companies acquired by non-U.S. buyers in 2024 totaled nearly $350 billion.
- Outbound activity in 2024 jumped 18% by deal value from 2023 and remained stable by deal count, declining just 3%. The value of non-U.S. companies acquired by U.S. buyers in 2024 totaled over $430 billion.
- Canada-based acquirers drove the most inbound transactions in 2024 (287), followed closely by the UK (278). Japan-based buyers took third at 147 transactions.
- U.S. acquirers most frequently looked to targets in the UK during 2024 (572), with Canada (382) and Germany (198) rounding out the top three ex-U.S. target countries.
Active M&A Industries (U.S. Targets)
5. By Deal Count
- The software industry once again topped the list of U.S. M&A activity by deal count in December, continuing its streak as the leading industry by volume and rounding out a full year at number one.
- Services industries also remained active, with financial services and other professional services again rounding out the top three sectors in December by deal count.
6. By Deal Value
- Financial services was the leading U.S. industry by deal value in December, with two of the five largest deals of the month, together totaling more than $25 billion in deal value.
- Media was the second most active by deal value in December, bolstered by Omnicom's blockbuster acquisition of Interpublic. Software targets were the third most active, at just over $15 billion in deal value.
December Blockbuster Deals
7. Largest U.S. Media Deal
Omnicom Group has agreed to acquire The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $13.75 billion.
8. Largest U.S. Asset Management Deal
BlackRock, Inc. has agreed to acquire HPS Investment Partners, LLC in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $12 billion.
9. Selected Annual Highlights
More than 35 transactions exceeding $10 billion were announced globally during the year, demonstrative of the comparably favorable market conditions following tempered activity in 2023. Transformative deals were struck in a variety of sectors, including those highlighted below.
| Industry | Target | Buyer | Deal Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Goods | Kellanova | Mars, Incorporated | $36 B |
| Financial Services | Discover Financial Services | Capital One Financial Corporation | $35 B |
| Software | ANSYS, Inc. | Synopsys, Inc. | $34 B |
| Media | Paramount Global | Skydance Media and RedBird Capital Partners | $28 B |
| Energy | Endeavor Energy Resources, L.P. |
Diamondback Energy, Inc. | $28 B |
| Pharma | Catalent, Inc. | Novo Holdings A/S | $16 B |
10 .2024 M&A Activity Recap
A snapshot of 2024 metrics, and how they stack up against 2023.
| 2024 | 2023 | Δ% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Deal Value | $3.91 T | $3.49 T | 🡅 12% |
| Global Deal Count | 43,101 | 42,546 | 🡅 1% |
| U.S. Deal Value | $1.77 T | $1.58 T | 🡅 12% |
| U.S. Deal Count | 11,412 | 11,695 | 🡇 2% |
| # of $10B+ Deals (U.S.) | 27 | 22 | 🡅 23% |
Footnotes
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