U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions Monthly Review: December 2025

U.S. M&A deal activity increased in December, going up 4.8% with 1,146 announcements compared to 1,094 in November. Aggregate M&A spending increased as well. In December 56.9% more was spent on deals compared to November.

In terms of M&A deal activity, 10 of the 21 sectors tracked by FactSet saw an increase in M&A deal activity over the past three months relative to the same three-month period one year ago. The six sectors that witnessed the largest increases in M&A deal volume were: Technology Services (865 vs. 697), Non-Energy Minerals (117 vs. 76), Industrial Services (237 vs. 208), Commercial Services (422 vs. 399), Retail Trade (109 vs. 92), and Electronic Technology (92 vs. 75).

On the other hand, 10 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 were: Finance (652 vs. 861), Consumer Services (184 vs. 234), Producer Manufacturing (194 vs. 234), Health Technology (88 vs. 128), and Distribution Services (141 vs. 163).

Topping the list of the largest deals announced in December are: Netflix, Inc. entering an agreement to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, Inc. for $68.8 billion; International Business Machines Corp. entering an agreement to acquire Confluent, Inc. for $11 billion; a private group led by Permira Advisers LLP and Warburg Pincus LLC agreeing to acquire Clearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc. for $7.1 billion; ServiceNow Inc.'s deal to acquire Armis Inc. for $7.8 billion; Kimmeridge Energy Management Co. LLC's offer to acquire Ascent Resources - Utica LLC for $6 billion.

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