U.S. M&A Deal and Private Equity Activity Both Tumble in January

Via FactSet Mergers Staff

M&A Deal Activity Falls in January

U.S. M&A deal activity decreased in January, going down 7.1% with 961 announcements compared to 1,035 in December. Aggregate M&A spending decreased as well. In January 40.2% less was spent on deals compared to December.

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:

• Commercial Services (538 vs. 491)
• Distribution Services (157 vs. 133)
• Health Technology (109 vs. 98)
• Electronic Technology (123 vs. 116)
• Health Services (168 vs. 162)

Eight 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 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 (438 vs. 509)
• Consumer Services (203 vs. 253)
• Industrial Services (109 vs. 134)
• Process Industries (85 vs. 109)
• Utilities (40 vs. 62)

Twelve 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 271 deals.

Topping the list of the largest deals announced in January are Tyco International Plc's agreement to acquire Johnson Controls, Inc. for $29.3 billion; Leidos Holdings, Inc. agreeing to acquire the business and assets of Lockheed Martin Corp's information systems and global solutions operations for $5.9 billion; Qingdao Haier Co. Ltd. agreeing to acquire General Electric Appliances, Inc. from General Electric Co. for $5.4 billion; Dalian Wanda Group Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Dalian Hexing Investment Co. Ltd., acquiring an undisclosed majority stake in Legend Pictures LLC from SoftBank Group Corp and Waddell & Reed, Inc. for approximately $3.5 billion; Microchip Technology, Inc.'s deal to acquire Atmel Corp. for $3.3 billion.

Private Equity Drops 26.6%

U.S. private equity activity decreased in January, down 26.6% from December. There were 94 deals in January compared to 128 in December. Aggregate transaction value decreased as well, down by 58.8% to $5.7 billion from December's $13.9 billion.

The top financial advisors for 2016 based on deal announcements, are Goldman Sachs & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co, Houlihan Lokey, Inc., Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Citigroup.

The top five financial advisors, based on the aggregate transaction value of the deals worked on, are Goldman Sachs & Co., Barclays Plc, Citigroup, Lazard, and Centerview Partners LLC.

The top legal advisors for 2015 based on deal announcements, are Jones Day LP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

The top five legal advisors, based on the aggregate transaction value of the deals worked on, are Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, A&L Goodbody, and Arthur Cox & Co. (UK).

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