After a tough start to the year due to the Covid-19 outbreak, global merger and acquisition activity has already hit record levels for the second half, Refinitiv reports.
According to the firm’s latest data on the global M&A market, the second half of 2020 reached a record $1.9 trillion (all figures in U.S. dollars) in deal activity with a month left in the year.
Despite the recent rebound, global M&A so far this year sat at $3.1 trillion at the end of November, which is down by 10% at the same point a year ago.
There was $345.5 billion worth of deals announced in November, Refinitiv reported. While that’s down by 20% from the previous month, it represented a 13% year-over-year increase and the strongest November since 2015, the report said.
Cross-border M&A was particularly strong last month, up 82% from November 2019 to US$167.2 billion.
Deal activity declined in the U.S. and the Asia Pacific region last month, but Europe had its best November since 1999.
The tech sector led the way in M&A in November, Refinitiv said.
“Tech M&A is at the highest level year-to-date level of all-time, with both value and number of deals exceeding those recorded in dot-com boom,” the report said.
The report also said that private equity–backed M&A had its best November since 2006.