US Mergers & Acquisitions Monthly Review: September 2023

U.S. M&A deal activity decreased in September, going down 12.6% with 1,033 announcements compared to 1,182 in August. However, aggregate M&A spending increased. In September, 7% more was spent on deals compared to August.

In terms of M&A deal activity, only one 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: Energy Minerals (35 vs. 33).

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 were: Finance (503 vs. 821), Technology Services (602 vs. 805), Commercial Services (458 vs. 599), Consumer Services (235 vs. 319) and Health Services (120 vs. 189).

Topping the list of the largest deals announced in September are: Cisco Systems, Inc.'s agreement to acquire Splunk, Inc. for $26.5 billion; Smurfit Kappa Group Plc's agreement to acquire WestRock Co. for $11.1 billion; The JM Smucker Co.'s agreement to acquire Hostess Brands, Inc. for $4.6 billion; Enbridge, Inc.'s agreement to acquire The East Ohio Gas subsidiaries from Dominion Energy, Inc. for $4.3 billion; Summit Materials, Inc.'s agreement to acquire Argos North America Corp. from Cementos Argos SA for $3.2 billion.

This blog post is for informational purposes only. The information contained in this blog post is not legal, tax, or investment advice. FactSet does not endorse or recommend any investments and assumes no liability for any consequence relating directly or indirectly to any action or inaction taken based on the information contained in this article.