Deals
Dealmaking Slips by Almost a Third in 2022 Marked by Volatility, Inflation
- ‘Tale of two years’ sees activity drop after early megadeals
- Buyout firms struck creative deals as financing markets shut
This article is for subscribers only.
Stubbornly high inflation, soaring borrowing costs and geopolitical uncertainty hindered dealmaking in 2022, sending global mergers and acquisitions activity down by almost a third compared with last year’s record haul.
Companies announced $3.5 trillion of deals in 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, striking transactions to bulk up existing businesses, push into new sectors or reorganize operations against a volatile backdrop of slumping equity markets and forceful antitrust actions. Megadeals announced early in the year were soon replaced by jitters about getting M&A over the finish line, with monthly deal activity plummeting by almost half from May to June. The volumes have yet to recover.