There were 47 deals worth US$5 billion or more in the first quarter of 2021, the highest number of any quarter since Q2 2007, which recorded 48 deals in that price range. The largest of these this quarter was the US$31.1 billion acquisition of GE Capital Aviation Services by AerCap Holdings.
UK M&A value came to US$111.2 billion in the first three months of 2021—the highest of any Q1 period on Mergermarket record (since 2006). The largest deal of the quarter was the US$19.8 billion acquisition of regional utility firm Western Power Distribution by National Grid.
There were 478 US private equity buyout deals in the first quarter of 2021—more than in any other quarter on Mergermarket record (since 2006). This was an 11% rise on the previous quarter, the previous record high. The largest transaction of the quarter was the US$9.2 billion acquisition of Extended Stay America, an operator of a chain of apartment hotels, by Blackstone Real Estate Partners and St
Global automotive M&A recorded the highest total value of any quarter in over ten years. Q1 2021 saw US$40.8 billion worth of deals in the sector, more than any quarter since Q2 2009 which registered US$52.1 billion in activity. Nearly half of the total value was due to the US$17.6 billion acquisition of electric vehicle firm Atieva (doing business as Lucid Motors) by Churchill Capital Corp IV.
The first quarter of 2021 saw US$40.2 billion worth of M&A in the construction sector globally. This represents the highest value of any Q1 on Mergermarket record (since 2006). This was boosted by the largest deal in the sector, a domestic Chinese deal which saw Xinjiang Tianshan Cement acquire four regional cement manufacturers for US$15.2 billion.
Canadian M&A came to US$56.9 billion in the first quarter of 2021—the highest quarterly value since Q3 2007 which recorded US$79.8 billion worth of deal activity. The largest deal of the quarter was the US$21.2 billion merger between telecoms firms Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications.
M&A in the leisure sector in the US came to US$24.7 billion in Q1 2021, the highest total of any quarter since Q3 2007’s US$35.6 billion. This was boosted by the US$9.2 billion acquisition of hotel chain Extended Stay America by Blackstone Real Estate Partners and Starwood Capital, the largest US buyout of the quarter.
M&A deals targeting Japanese firms totaled US$109.1 billion in value, the highest annual value on Mergermarket record (since 2006). A large proportion of the overall deal value was due to the largest transaction of the year, telecoms firm NTT’s US$40.4 billion acquisition of a 33.8% stake in mobile provider DoCoMo.
Global semiconductor dealmaking totaled US$139 billion in 2020, the highest of any year on Mergermarket record (since 2006), topping the previous record of US$129.8 billion in 2016. This massive total was boosted by the US$38.5 billion bid for ARM by NVIDIA, as well as the US$35.6 billion Advanced Micro Devices/Xilinx deal.
A total of US$61.8 billion in M&A value was announced in 2020 in Latin America and the Caribbean—the lowest annual value on Mergermarket record (since 2006). The largest deal of the region was a corporate restructuring deal that saw energy firm Cosan consolidate two of its corporate entities into one holding group in a US$10.5 billion deal.
In 2020, the number of deals in the middle market (between US$5 million and US$99 million) reached the lowest point since 2013. There were 7,381 deals across the year, the lowest annual figure since 2013 which saw 7,366 transactions in that size bracket.
There were 185 inbound cross-border transactions in India in 2020, worth US$49.1 billion in aggregate. This represents the highest total value of any year on Mergermarket record (since 2006). The two largest deals of the year were both investments in internet service provider Reliance Jio—Facebook invested US$5.7 billion in April, while Google invested US$4.5 billion in July.
Global M&A value in the financial services sector came to US$379 billion in 2020—the highest annual total since 2015, which saw US$488.2 billion in aggregate deal value. The largest deal of the year was a merger between two UK insurance firms. The US$35.6 billion deal, which is still pending approval by regulators, will sees Aon take over Willis Towers Watson.
Germany saw its highest level of private equity deal value in over a decade in 2020. A total of US$50.4 billion in PE-related transactions were struck in 2020, more than any other year since the US$52.8 billion worth of PE deals in 2007. This total was boosted by one of the largest ever buyouts in Europe, the sale of ThyssenKrupp’s elevators unit for US$18.8 billion.
Chinese M&A in the energy, mining and utilities sector in Q3 of 2020 was by far the highest of any quarter since 2006, with a total of US$105 billion in activity. The largest deal of the sector was PetroChina’s sale of a number of pipeline assets for US$49.1 billion.
Deal activity in the United Arab Emirates totaled US$35.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2020. This is already higher than any annual total since 2006. This was due to a US$20.3 billion deal between ADPower and TAQA and ADNOC’s US$10.1 billion sale of a stake in its pipeline assets to a consortium of investors.
There were 33 megadeals (US$5 billion or larger) in the third quarter of 2020. This is the highest quarterly total since Q4 2015. The largest of these was PetroChina’s US$49.1 billion sale of infrastructure assets.
M&A value in the first three quarters totaled US$29.9 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean—this was the lowest total for the Q1-Q3 period of any year on Mergermarket record (since 2006).
UK M&A in the first three quarters of 2020 totaled US$152.5 billion. This is a 23% rise on the same period the year before, even as volume dropped 35% to 728 transactions.
Semiconductor M&A in the third quarter totaled US$62.45 billion. This is the highest quarterly total on Mergermarket record (since 2006), due in large part to NVIDIA’s US$38.5 billion bid for UK semiconductor firm ARM.
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