Mergers and acquisitions worldwide - statistics & facts

AT&T and Time Warner may be one of the most well-known recent mergers, but it was only the ninth largest all-time global M&A deal. The honor of the largest global M&A deal to date goes to Vodafone’s acquisition Mannesmann in 1999. Although the terms “merger” and “acquisition” are often used interchangeably, they represent different methods of company consolidation processes. A merger is a combination of two companies to form a new company, while an acquisition is the purchase of one company by another, in which no new company is formed. M&A activity had been fluctuating in the past few years, before reaching new heights in 2021. The most attractive market for M&A deals remains the United States, but M&As involving Chinese companies have been increasing throughout the last two decades, overtaking the United Kingdom (UK) as the second largest market in terms of M&A transactions value.

Most active sectors for M&A deals

Due to the global economic contraction and the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, M&A activity suffered in 2020, but bounced back in 2021. Some industries are more popular than others for mergers and acquisitions, depending also on the local economy. In 2021, the financial sector the biggest growth in terms of M&A deals value, increasing by more than 120 percent compared to the previous year and overtaking information technology (IT) as the leading sector in terms of M&As transaction value.
While the financial sector was the largest worldwide, the leading sector for M&As in the United States was the telecommunication, media, and technology (TMT), followed by industrial and chemicals. These rankings, however, largely depend on so-called mega-deals, which can significantly impact a sector’s performance.

M&A: Drivers and challenges

Several factors play a role in executives deciding to pursue a M&A deal. Drivers for buyers vary, but the most common generally include technology acquisition, foreign expansion, and market consolidation. On the other hand, sellers might need to enter a merger and acquisition deal due to divestments, liquidity issues, and acquisition of non-core assets by larger companies. Despite all the positive impacts that M&As can have on companies and markets, they involve complex and lengthy negotiations, followed by regulatory checks and due diligence to ensure the success of the transaction.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jul 25, 2022

Key insights

Value of global M&A deals
5.9tr USD
Value of M&A deals in APAC
1.36tn USD
Value of global M&A deals in real estate sector
551.2 bn USD
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Number of merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions worldwide from 2010 to 2021

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Number of M&A deals globally 2010-2021

Value of mergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions worldwide from 2010 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Value of M&A deals globally 2010-2021

Largest merger and acquisition transactions worldwide as of December 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)

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