Global M&A sees surge in Q4 2020

Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in 2020 fell to its lowest level since the aftermath of the financial crisis over a decade ago, despite a surge in dealmaking in the final three months, according to latest research on completed deals by Willis Towers Watson’s Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor (QDPM). 

Run in partnership with the M&A Research Centre at The Business School (formerly Cass), the data highlights that companies worldwide completed just 674 deals valued over USD100 million in 2020, significantly less than the previous year (774) and the lowest annual volume since 2009 (322). 

Despite the deadening impact of COVID-19 on M&A activity for much of 2020, the QDPM data revealed a sharp rise in volume in the final quarter with 246 deals completed worldwide, compared to 210 in Q4 2019, including the highest ever number of large deals completed in a final quarter (61). This resurgence has so far been driven by a strong uptick in activity by North American buyers with a record number of deals (136) for a final quarter, matched by the region’s first positive quarterly performance in three years.