Corporations across the globe are in the throes of merger-mania - or so it seems. Projected completions through to the end of this year suggest that overall deal-making in 2015 could outstrip the 2007 high-water mark.
On a national basis, the US is leading the way with representative deals topping the $1 trillion mark - the first time in history that this has happened before the end of June, according to figures from Dealogic.
The two stand-out sectors in the first half of this year were global Healthcare and Oil and Gas. Deal volumes in the latter sector hit $146bn in the first five months of the year, representing an 88 per cent step-up from the comparable point in 2014. The figures also indicate that the size of the deals are on the rise; a point borne out by the Halliburton/Baker Hughes and Shell/BG tie-ups. In all, oil and gas deals accounted for around 11 per cent of this year’s deals.
