Global M&A volume reached $2 trillion in the first half of 2019, down 12% from the same period in 2018, according to preliminary data from Refinitiv.
Deals involving U.S. targets dominated the activity, rising 19% to a record $1.1 trillion. The largest of them included drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb’s $74 billion acquisition of Celgene, the agreed merger of a United Technologies division with defense contractor Raytheon, drugmaker AbbVie’s $63 billion agreement to acquire peer Allergan, and Occidental Petroleum’s $38 billion deal to buy Anadarko Petroleum.
JPMorgan headed the global merger advisory league table for the first half of the year, pushing Goldman Sachs out of the top spot it held for the equivalent period in 2018. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Evercore rounded out the top five. Separately, billionaire investor Daniel Loeb said on June 28 that his hedge fund Third Point will vote against the planned merger of United Technologies and Raytheon, saying there is no"strategic rationale for this transaction." Rival hedge fund manager William Ackman wrote to United Technologies to complain even before the deal was publicly announced.