U.S. M&A Deal and Private Equity Activity Continue to Fall in February

Via FactSet Mergers Staff

US M&A deal activity decreased in February, going down 12.6% with 868 announcements compared to 993 in January. Aggregate M&A spending decreased as well. In February 0.7% less was spent on deals compared to January.

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:

• Distribution Services (156 vs. 137)
• Commercial Services (516 vs. 498)
• Retail Trade (117 vs. 108)
• Miscellaneous (12 vs. 5)
• Government (5 vs. 1).

Five 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 (429 vs. 519)
• Consumer Services (198 vs. 272)
• Utilities (44 vs. 84)
• Finance (376 vs. 410)
• Non-Energy Minerals (44 vs. 65)

Fifteen 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 324 deals.

Topping the list of the largest deals announced in February are: Apollo Global Management LLC agreeing to acquire The ADT Corp. for $6.9 billion; Fortis, Inc.'s deal to acquire ITC Holdings Corp. for $6.8 billion; Tianjin Tianhai Investment Co. Ltd. entering into an agreement to acquire Ingram Micro, Inc. for $5.8 billion; Abbott Laboratories agreeing to acquire Alere, Inc. for $4.8 billion; and Dominion Resources, Inc. agreeing to acquire Questar Corp. for approximately $4.4 billion.

US Private Equity Drops 11.3% From January

US private equity activity decreased in February, down 11.3% from January. There were 86 deals in February compared to 97 in January. However, aggregate transaction value increased, up by 269.5% to $20.0 billion from January's $5.4 billion.

The top financial advisors for 2016 based on deal announcements, are: Goldman Sachs & Co., Houlihan Lokey, Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co, Barclays Plc, and Morgan Stanley.

The top five financial advisors, based on the aggregate transaction value of the deals worked on, are: Goldman Sachs & Co., Citigroup, Barclays Plc, Lazard, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The top legal advisors for 2015 based on deal announcements, are: Jones Day LP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

The top five legal advisors, based on the aggregate transaction value of the deals worked on, are: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

FactSet Flashwire Monthly Report

• Key trend information for the Overall and Middle M&A Markets, such as deal volume, deal value, mega-deals, leading buyers, leading industries, leading sectors, cross-border deals, U.S. regional deals, average P/E, average premiums, payment methods, and much more
• Industry reports on the Internet, Telecommunications, Healthcare, Banking, and much more
• Special reports on technology, the public and private M&A markets, cancellation fees, industry activity, etc.
• Leading financial and legal advisor rankings