Dive Brief:
- The value of global mergers and acquisitions is soaring close to a record level this year as companies rush to gain a competitive edge from artificial intelligence, according to Apollo Global Management Chief Economist Torsten Sløk.
- The value of deals worldwide surged to $3.3 trillion during the first nine months of 2026, rising at the fastest rate since 2021, when values for the full year hit a record $4.9 trillion, Sløk said. Big deals dominated the tally: From January through September, 42 deals exceeded $10 billion and totalled more than $1.1 trillion, or 36% of the value of all deals, he said.
- “M&A is on pace for a near-record year, driven by the ongoing rapid technological change that is forcing firms to adapt to a new world,” Sløk said Monday in a note.
Dive Insight:
The fixation on AI has spurred dealmaking well beyond technology into companies involved in sectors essential for the AI build-out, including data centers, power generation, power grid infrastructure, cooling and connectivity, Sløk said.
“AI is the trigger of the AI boom, but it is lighting up far more than tech,” he said, noting that dealmaking involving utilities and energy companies posted a record first half.
Among the largest AI-focused deals, SpaceX in June bought Anysphere, the creator of AI-coding agent Cursor, for $55 billion, according to Mergermarket.
Although the value of deals soared during the first nine months of this year, the volume declined by 1% to 32,419 transactions, according to ION Analytics.
“The divergence suggests confidence in striking larger transactions remains strong, while smaller deals are taking longer to complete amid geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty,” ION Analytics said.
While M&A slowed during Q3 compared with Q2, a healthy backlog of deals supports forecasts for robust dealmaking in coming months, according to Mergermarket, a unit of ION Analytics.
In the U.S., companies are involved in negotiating 386 asset sales, with the technology and consumer sectors most active, Mergermarket said.
For example, Apollo Global Management is considering the acquisition of the orthopedics business of DePuy Synthesis, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, for nearly $20 billion, Mergermarket said.
Also, O’Reilly Automotive is negotiating the purchase of the auto-parts division of Genuine Parts for more than $10 billion, according to Mergermarket.
Dealmakers confront a mixed landscape, according to M&A specialists.
“Capital remains available, financing conditions are workable despite rising interest rates and pressure on both companies and financial sponsors to reshape portfolios is building,” Boston Consulting Group said in a recent report.
At the same time, “valuation gaps persist, attractive assets remain scarce and uncertainty around business models and future performance can make deals hard to justify,” BCG said.
