M&A Activity Down in July

Over the past three 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:

• Process Industries (135 vs. 121)
• Non-Energy Minerals (65 vs. 60)
• Government (8 vs. 4)
• Consumer Durables (56 vs. 52)
• Communications (43 vs. 42)

Six 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.

Deal Volume

Over the past three 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:

• Technology Services (429 vs. 552),
• Commercial Services (412 vs. 524),
• Finance (363 vs. 473),
• Consumer Services (192 vs. 292),
• Health Services (145 vs. 209).

Thirteen 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 733 deals.

The Big Deals of June

Topping the list of the largest deals announced in June were:

• NextEra Energy, Inc's agreement to acquire Energy Future Holdings Corp. from Texas Energy Future Holdings LP $18.4 billion
• Analog Devices Inc. agreeing to acquire Linear Technology Corp. for $14.4 billion
• Danone SA's deal to acquire The WhiteWave Foods Co. for $10 billion
• Oracle Corp's agreement to acquire NetSuite, Inc. for $8.8 billion
• Verizon Communications Inc. agreeing to acquire the Yahoo! Inc.'s operating business for $4.8 billion

US private equity activity decreased in July, down 7.7% from June. There were 96 deals in July compared to 104 in June. Aggregate transaction value also decreased, down by 6.1% to $18.8 billion from June's $20.0 billion.

Related: Uncertainty Reigns Over Brexit’s M&A Impact

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