The Global M&A Frenzy Drops in the 3rd Quarter

The value of announced mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worldwide fell 27% to $753 billion in the third quarter of 2016, as the companies have become apprehensive in terms of overpaying, which totally prevented the repeat of last year’s deal-making frenzy. The Thomson Reuters M&A data is of the view that the frenzy that drove mergers and acquisitions in 2015 has subsided. Even though the M&A activity remains healthy, the companies have started to become more selective in their decisions. The largest deal in2016 was in the third quarter, when the German drug maker Bayer A.G. conducted a takeover of Monsanto Company, the U.S. seed maker. The deal is also the on-record biggest all-cash deal till date. Another factor that has weighed on M&A this year is the reluctance seen in the United States and several other countries who went on to seek a crack on deals that aid tax avoidance or risk harming national security.