Monthly Review of U.S. Mergers and Acquisitions: January 2026

The statistics for U.S. mergers and acquisitions in January 2026 showed a slight increase in deal activity with 1,327 announcements, up from 1,309 in December. However, the total spending on these deals decreased by 68.4% compared to the previous month. It is interesting to note that when looking at M&A deal activity over the past three months relative to the same period one year ago, 11 out of 21 sectors experienced an increase in activity.

Among the sectors that saw the largest increase in M&A deal volume were Technology Services with 834 announcements compared to 735, Non-Energy Minerals with 109 compared to 69, Industrial Services with 259 compared to 220, Commercial Services with 460 compared to 424, and Consumer Non-Durables with 111 compared to 79. On the other hand, 10 sectors experienced a decrease in M&A deal activity over the same period.

The five sectors that saw the largest decreases in M&A deal volume were Finance with 721 announcements compared to 831, Producer Manufacturing with 192 compared to 218, Health Technology with 103 compared to 127, Distribution Services with 138 compared to 161, and Consumer Services with 188 compared to 205. Despite these decreases, certain sectors continued to show robust M&A deal activity.

Some of the most significant deals announced in January included Boston Scientific Corp.’s acquisition of Penumbra, Inc. for $14.6 billion, a consortium led by Tidemark Management Co. LP, General Atlantic LLC, and HgCapital LLP acquiring OneStream, Inc. for $5.9 billion, Mitsubishi Corp.’s agreement to acquire multiple entities from Aethon Energy Management LLC for $5.2 billion, Capital One Financial Corp.’s acquisition of Brex, Inc. for $5.2 billion, and Vistra Corp.’s deal to acquire Cogentrix Energy Power Management LLC for $3.2 billion.

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