ANALYSIS: Dismal Q3 M&A Deal Volumes Dampen End-of-Year Outlook

Following a brief uptick in global M&A activity, deal volumes have dropped again, and Q3 2023’s performance might deflate hopes that Q2 2023 was the start of an M&A market rebound.

Global M&A deals (covering a wide variety of transaction types) announced in Q3 2023 totaled just $641 billion, which was the lowest third-quarter volume since 2013. To make matters worse, 2023’s total global M&A deal volume through Q3 ($1.95 trillion) was almost $1 trillion lower than the same span in 2022 ($2.91 trillion) and was the lowest three-quarter total since 2013 ($1.77 trillion).

Global M&A deal volumes have broken ...