Annual global M&A volume surpassed USD5 trillion for the first time ever in 2015, according to data released by Dealogic.
This record-setting volume breaks the previous record of USD4.6 trillion set in 2007, by 9 per cent. There were 10 USD50 billion+ M&A transactions announced in 2015 worth a combined USD798.9 billion. That's five deals more than the previous record high activity set in 1998, 1999, and 2014. US targeted M&A (USD2.5tr) accounts for half of 2015 volume and seven of the top 10 transactions.
Healthcare (USD723.7 billion) and Technology (USD713.1 billion) were the leading sectors. The biggest deals announced in 2015 were Pfizer and Allergan's pending USD160 billion merger, followed by Anheuser-Busch InBev's USD117.4 billion bid for SABMiller, two of only eight USD100 billion-plus transactions announced on record.
