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

U.S. M&A deal activity increased in January, going up 16.1% with 1,209 announcements compared to 1,041 in December. Aggregate M&A spending increased as well. In January, 10.8% more was spent on deals compared to December.

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 3 months relative to the same 3-month period a year ago: Industrial Services (240 vs. 231), Miscellaneous (12 vs. 8), and Utilities (82 vs. 80).

On the other hand, 18 of the 21 sectors tracked by FactSet saw a decrease in M&A deal activity over the past 3 months relative to the same 3-month period a year ago. The 5 sectors that witnessed the largest declines in M&A deal volume were: Finance (460 vs. 803), Technology Services (588 vs. 748), Commercial Services (495 vs. 614), Distribution Services (200 vs. 255), and Consumer Services (265 vs. 319).

Topping the list of the largest deals announced in January are: Synopsys Inc. agreement to acquire ANSYS Inc. for $31.9 billion; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. deal to acquire Juniper Networks Inc. for $12.9 billion; BlackRock Inc. agreeing to acquire Global Infrastructure Management LLC for $12.5 billion; Chesapeake Energy Corp. deal to acquire Southwestern Energy Co. for $7.4 billion; a private group led by Brigade Capital Management LP and Arkhouse Management Co. LP proposing to acquire Macy's Inc. for $5.8 billion.

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