Dealmaking Drops by a Third as Choppy Markets Chill Merger Fever

Stubbornly high inflation, soaring borrowing costs and geopolitical uncertainty hindered dealmaking in 2022, sending global mergers and acquisitions activity down by almost a third compared with last year’s record haul.

Companies announced $3.5 trillion of deals in 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, striking transactions to bulk up existing businesses, push into new sectors or reorganize operations against a volatile backdrop of slumping equity markets and forceful antitrust actions. Megadeals announced early in the year were soon replaced by jitters about getting M&A over the finish line, with monthly deal activity plummeting by almost half from May to June. ...