U.S. M&A deal activity decreased in December, going down 13.2% with 1,089 announcements compared to 1,255 in November. Aggregate M&A spending decreased as well. In December, 54.8% less was spent on deals compared to November.
In terms of M&A deal activity over the past three months, no sector saw an increase in deals relative to the same three-month period one year ago. On the other hand, 19 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 (558 vs. 1506), Technology Services (672 vs. 1170), Commercial Services (531 vs. 739), Producer Manufacturing (171 vs. 345) and Distribution Services (200 vs. 352).
Topping the list of the largest deals announced in December are: Thoma Bravo LP agreeing to acquire Coupa Software, Inc. for $6.2 billion; Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. signing an agreement to acquire Nimbus Lakshmi, Inc. from Nimbus Therapeutics LLC for $6 billion; L3Harris Technologies, Inc.'s agreement to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. for $4.7 billion; Advent International Corp.'s deal to acquire Maxar Technologies, Inc. for $4 billion; and NRG Energy, Inc. agreeing to acquire Vivint Smart Home, Inc. for $2.6 billion.
Top U.S. Deals Scoreboard
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