U.S. M&A deal activity increased in March, going up 1.4% with 1,146 announcements compared to 1,130 in February. Aggregate M&A spending increased as well. In March, 0.2% more was spent on deals compared to February.
In terms of M&A deal activity over the past three months, one sector tracked by FactSet saw an increase in deals relative to the same three-month period one year ago: Government (1 vs. 0). On the other hand, 20 of the 21 sectors tracked by FactSet saw a decrease in M&A deal activity over the past three months, relative to the same three-month period one year ago. The five sectors that witnessed the largest declines in M&A deal volume (relative to the same three-month period one year ago) were: Finance (547 vs. 1091), Technology Services (714 vs. 1091), Commercial Services (541 vs. 716), Health Services (148 vs. 239) and Distribution Services (209 vs. 289).
Topping the list of the largest deals announced in March are: Pfizer Inc.'s agreement to acquire Seagen Inc. for $42.8 billion; A private group led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Silver Lake Management Co. LLC entering an agreement to acquire the remaining 95.9% stake in Qualtrics International, Inc. from SAP SE for $10.5 billion; A private group led by Apollo Management LP and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority entering an agreement to acquire Univar Solutions, Inc. for $5.6 billion; Concentrix Corp.'s agreement to acquire Webhelp SAS $3.2 billion; Clearlake Capital Group LP's proposal to acquire Blackbaud, Inc. for $3.8 billion.
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