Mergers & Acquisitions Activity Falls to Pre-Pandemic Levels

The global Mergers & Acquisitions market is cooling this year relative to 2021’s frenzied pace, with challenging macroeconomic conditions dampening the buying spree that followed the easing of Covid restrictions, a new report from Boston Consulting Group concludes.

In the first seven months of 2022, companies announced more than 22,000 deals, with a total value of $1.85 trillion — a level of activity more in line with pre-pandemic averages than with the previous year — according to the Boston Consulting Group study, done in collaboration with Paderborn University Professor Sönke Sievers.

Going forward, BCG forecasts that environmental, societal, and governance (ESG) considerations will motivate an increasing number of deals, despite unfavorable macroeconomic conditions. The report finds that the global number of ESG-related deals rose from about 5,700 in 2011 to an all-time high of about 9,200 in 2021 — a 60 percent increase. The volume of these deals as a share of all M&A activity rose from 12 percent in 2001 to 17 percent in 2011 and then rose further to 22 percent in 2021, suggesting that more dealmakers are recognizing the value-creating potential of these transactions.

Download a copy of the report here.