Even with the continued uptick in mega deals during 2019, the third quarter saw a significant worldwide decline in mergers and acquisitions. The volume of global M&A was down by 34% in the third quarter, with $631 billion in worldwide public and private mergers and acquisitions deals announced, as compared with $962 billion in the second quarter. The third quarter’s deal volume was the lowest for any quarter since the first quarter of 2014.
Despite the fact that the first and second quarters were relatively strong for global M&A volume, the third quarter’s lower numbers, in addition to fourth quarter ...