December 2024 U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions Review: FactSet Analysis
In December 2024, U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) deal activity experienced a slight increase, with 997 announcements compared to 991 in the previous month. Despite this uptick in deal volume, the total amount spent on M&A deals decreased by 4.8% in December compared to November.
Breaking down the M&A deal activity by sector, FactSet’s data revealed that out of the 21 sectors monitored, five sectors showed an increase in M&A deal activity over the past three months compared to the same period the previous year. These sectors include Technology Services, Health Technology, Process Industries, Energy Minerals, and Miscellaneous.
Conversely, the majority of sectors, 15 out of 21, saw a decline in M&A deal activity over the same three-month period year-over-year. Sectors such as Finance, Commercial Services, Distribution Services, Industrial Services, and Consumer Services experienced the largest decreases in M&A deal volume during this time frame.
Noteworthy among the top deals announced in December were Novolex Holdings LLC’s acquisition of Pactiv Evergreen, Inc. for $3.2 billion, Patient Square Capital’s agreement to acquire Patterson Cos., Inc. for $2.8 billion, Macquarie Asset Management, Inc.’s acquisition of a 40% minority stake in the US Gulf Coast Infrastructure Assets from Dow, Inc. for $2.4 billion, INEOS AG’s deal to acquire CNOOC Holdings USA, Inc. from CNOOC Ltd. for a reported value of $2 billion, and TOPPAN Holdings, Inc.’s acquisition of the Thermoformed & Flexibles Packaging Business from Sonoco Products Co. for $1.8 billion.
It is important to note that the information provided in this blog post is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, tax, or investment advice. FactSet does not provide endorsements or recommendations for specific investments and cannot be held liable for any direct or indirect consequences resulting from actions taken based on the information presented in this article.
