Global M&A activity in Q3 suggests 2018 is on track to be a record year

Despite a decline in announced M&A activity in Q3, the first nine months of this year suggests that 2018 appears to be on track to be one of the highest value years on record.

The volume and value of announced M&A in the third quarter of 2018 declined by almost a quarter on Q2 but there was still more announced M&A activity in the opening nine months of 2018 ($4,079,053 million) than any other year on record, with the exception of 2015 and 2007.

The largest deal to have been announced in Q3 was Comcast’s victory in the bidding war for broadcaster Sky, worth $47,879 million, accounting for 4% of the total global value for the three months.

As with the previous quarter, the US was the most frequently targeted country during Q3 and also attracted the most value in the period. Companies based in the US were targeted in 4,340 deals worth a combined $347,271 million. It is unsurprising to see it top the country rankings given that eight of the quarter’s top 20 deals by value featured targets based in the country.

The level of private equity and venture capital activity also decreased this quarter, although there were sizeable deals announced; the top three all broke the $6,000 million barrier, while the top ten all surpassed $2,500 million.

View our Global M&A Review Q3 2018