According to Refinitiv, August has seen an all-time high in deal value as global M&A continued to climb to a record US$3.9 trillion. It has also been the strongest month for cross-border deal values since our records began in 1980. However, August had the lowest monthly total for US$5 billion+ deals since January and SPAC business combinations tumbled.
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August 2021: M&A Monthly Snapshot
All-time August monthly deal value as global M&A continues climb to record US$3.9 trillion
US$501.3 billion worth of deals were announced globally during August 2021, a increase of 73% compared to the value recorded during the same month last year and the highest August total of all time, besting the US$315.0 billion recorded in August 2015. US$3.9 trillion worth of M&A deals were recorded during the first eight months of 2021, more than double (+114%) the value recorded during the same period last year and the highest year-to-date total since our records began in 1980. The number of deals announced so far this year is also at an all-time record of more than 38k, compared to 31k during the same period in 2020.
Deals involving Americas targets totalled US$160.0 billion during the month of August 2021, a decline of 47% from the previous month, and down 2% compared to the value recorded during August 2020. The value of US deals recorded during the first eight months of 2021 is US$2.0 trillion, nearly three-times the value recorded during the same period last year and an all-time year-to-date high. Powered by the dual-headed share unification of BHP Billiton PLC, European deals increased 79% from last month to US$195.0 billion. M&A in Asia-Pacific increased 12% from July to US$134.4 billion during August 2021, and a 66% increase from August 2020. Deal making increased 87% year-on-year in Europe to a 14-year high of US$870.0 billion, while in Asia-Pacific, M&A announcements increased 56% to an all-time year-to-date high of US$805.7 billion.
Materials was the leading sector by value of deal announcements during August 2021, with a total value of US$106.0 billion. By number of deals, Technology led all sectors with 740 deals announced during the month, or 23% of the overall monthly total. Tech deals account for 23% of global M&A by value so far this year, up from 20% during YTD 2020 and the highest share since the first eight months of 2000.
August 2021: M&A Monthly Snapshot
Lowest monthly total for US$5 billion+ deals since January; Strongest month for cross-border deal value on record; The monthly value of SPAC business combinations tumbles
Twelve deals worth US$5 billion or more were announced globally during August 2021, the lowest month for the number of US $5 billion+ mega deals since January 2021. The combined value of August’s US$5 billion-dollar+ deals totalled US$204.2 billion, the fourth time deals over US$5 billion surpassed US$200 billion during a month this year. A record 122 US$5 billion+ deals were announced during the first eight months of 2021, more than double the number recorded during the same period last year and the first time surpassing 100 deals during an eight-month period.
Cross-border M&A transactions totalled US$282.8 billion during August 2021, the largest month for cross-border deal value since records began in 1980, besting the previous record set in November 1999 (US$267.0 billion) Deals worth US$1.4 trillion were recorded during the first eight months of 2021, up 121% compared to the same period in 2020 and the highest year-to-date cross-border tally since our record began. Crossborder deals account for 35% of all deals, by value, this year, the highest share since 2018. The number of cross-border deal announcements has increased 35% year-on-year and surpassed 10,000 for the first time during the year-to-date period.
SPAC combinations announced globally during August 2021 totalled US$27.2 billion, the slowest monthly value for SPAC business combinations since November 2020. 257 SPAC acquisitions have been announced so far during 2021, compared to just 51 during the same period last year. The combined year-to-date value of these deals is US$507.1 billion, accounting for 13% of overall global M&A this year, compared to 3% last year-to-date.
