ANALYSIS: Despite Q4 Boost, 2023 M&A Deal Volumes Disappoint

In late 2022, I thought that 2023’s mergers and acquisitions activity would return to pre-2021 levels—I was wrong. M&A deal volumes went from bad to worse in 2023, and, for the first time in 10 years, global M&A deal volumes—pending and completed M&A transactions covering a wide variety of transaction types—failed to break the $3 trillion mark.

But it’s what lies behind the totals that helps paint a more nuanced picture of 2023. Q4 2023 had a higher deal volume than Q3 2023, for example, and the last quarter included some mega deals and a lot of activity ...