Deals
Record M&A Activity Has Dealmakers Wondering How Long It’ll Last
- More than $2 trillion of deals were announced in first half
- High valuations, regulatory concerns cited as dampeners
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Multibillion dollar deals that will reshape the health-care and media industries have set 2018 on course to be the biggest year on record for global M&A. Now, after an unprecedented five years of bumper activity, dealmakers are starting to sound a note of caution.
Companies announced $2.1 trillion of transactions in the first half of 2018, putting this year on track to beat 2007’s $4.1 trillion total, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Twenty-four acquisitions valued at more than $10 billion bolstered the numbers, the data show, including Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.’s $62 billion purchase of Shire Plc and T-Mobile US Inc’s $26.5 billion takeover of Sprint Corp.