U.S. M&A deal activity increased in September, going up 5.1% with 1,035 announcements compared to 985 in August. Aggregate M&A spending increased as well. In September 3.2% more was spent on deals compared to August.
Over the past 3 months, the sectors that have seen the biggest increases in M&A deal activity, relative to the same three month period one year ago, have been:
Thirteen of the 21 sectors tracked by FactSet Mergerstat posted relative gains in deal flow over the last three months compared to the same three months one year prior.
Over the past 3 months, the sectors that have seen the biggest declines in M&A deal volume, relative to the same three month period one year ago have been:
Eight of the 21 sectors tracked by FactSet Mergerstat posted negative relative losses in deal flow over the last three months compared to the same three months one year prior, for a combined loss of 119 deals.
Topping the list of the largest deals announced in September are:
U.S. private equity activity increased in September, up 18.5% from August. There were 109 deals in September compared to 92 in August. However, aggregate base equity decreased, down by 76.8% to $13.4 billion from August's $57.8 billion.
Canadian firms were the biggest buyers of U.S. companies in September. They announced 38 deals for the month, with U.K. companies in second with 28 deals, followed by Germany, Sweden and Japan. The largest deal to purchase a U.S. business was the Netherlands-based Altice NV's agreement to acquire Cablevision Systems Corp. for $9.7 billion. U.K. firms were the biggest sellers to U.S. firms with 38 deals, followed by Canada, Germany and Australia. The largest U.S. deal to acquire a foreign company was Equifax, Inc.'s proposal to acquire the Australia-based Veda Group Ltd. for $1.6 billion.
The top financial advisors for 2015 based on deal announcements, are: Goldman Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Citigroup. The top five financial advisors, based on the aggregate transaction value of the deals worked on, are: Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs & Co., Credit Suisse, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The top legal advisors for 2015 based on deal announcements, are: Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Jones Day LP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. The top five legal advisors, based on the aggregate transaction value of the deals worked on, are: Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen
& Katz.