Via FactSet Mergers Staff
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:
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:
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 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.