U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions Monthly Review: February 2024

U.S. M&A deal activity decreased in February, going down 18.7% with 1,045 announcements compared to 1,285 in January. However, aggregate M&A spending increased. In February, 13.7% more was spent on deals compared to January.

In terms of M&A deal activity, 3 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: Miscellaneous (15 vs. 6), Utilities (88 vs. 80) and Non-Energy Minerals (65 vs. 63).

On the other hand, 18 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 (491 vs. 823), Technology Services (590 vs. 760), Commercial Services (515 vs. 608), Consumer Services (249 vs. 323) and Health Services (124 vs. 167).

Topping the list of the largest deals announced in February are: Capital One Financial Corp. agreeing to acquire Discover Financial Services for $35 billion; Diamondback Energy, Inc.'s agreement to acquire Endeavor Energy Resources LP for $25.7 billion; Novo Holdings A/S, a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk Fonden, entering an agreement to acquire Catalent, Inc. for $11.5 billion; A private group led by Stone Point Capital LLC, Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC and Mubadala Investment Co. agreeing to acquire the remaining 80% majority stake in Truist Insurance Holdings, Inc. from Truist Financial Corp. for $10.1 billion; SK Growth Opportunities Corp.'s agreement to acquire Webull Financial LLC for $8.3 billion.

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