Global mergers and acquisitions reached a historic milestone in the first half of 2026, with total deal value surging to $2.8 trillion, representing a 48% increase from the same period last year. According to reports from LSEG, this marked the strongest opening six months since the company began tracking deals in 1980. The record-breaking performance was driven by a wave of megadeals, with transactions above $10 billion setting the pace for the market. As Reuters reports, some companies took advantage of an easier regulatory backdrop to pursue what advisers called their dream deals, with blockbuster transactions including NextEra Energy's $66.8 billion Dominion Energy merger and SpaceX's roughly $60 billion Cursor purchase. Despite the sharp rise in deal value, the number of announced transactions fell 9% to around 24,000, marking the lowest first-half count in six years, highlighting a market increasingly dominated by large-scale transactions.
Large takeovers carried the market with significant impact on overall value. As reported by LSEG, roughly 47 deals worth more than $1.3 trillion combined drove close to half of all value in the period, making it the strongest first half on record for such mega-deals. The trend reflects companies' strategic focus on fewer, bigger transactions rather than broad market activity. Ivan Farman, co-head of Global M&A at Bank of America, noted that companies see large-scale deals as equally time-intensive as smaller ones, making them more likely to act when major opportunities arise. According to JPMorgan's Jay Hofmann, corporates have shown tremendous resilience in the face of geopolitical, monetary, macroeconomic, and even microeconomic volatility, with financing available in size allowing companies to pursue assets needed to navigate change. Investment bankers told Reuters that corporate executives have remained confident despite persistent geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic uncertainty and fluctuating interest rates, with companies increasingly pursuing long-planned strategic acquisitions to strengthen market positions.
Despite the record value, market activity showed mixed trends. According to LSEG data, the total number of deals fell 9% to about 24,000, marking the lowest first-half count in six years. However, ample financing made ambitious deals possible, with global investment-grade corporate debt issuance reaching $3.4 trillion in the first half, up 10% from last year, as reported by Reuters. Financing for acquisitions was plentiful, with global investment-grade corporate debt issues totalling $3.4 trillion, a 10% increase year-on-year and the highest year-to-date total since LSEG records began. Advisers also noted that companies see greater value in pursuing large acquisitions, as the effort required to complete a multi-billion-dollar transaction is often comparable to that needed for smaller deals. Investors have also continued to reward companies with greater scale and stronger competitive advantages, encouraging boards to approve transformative acquisitions.
Technology continued to dominate global merger activity, with announced deals totaling $649 billion in the first six months of 2026. Cross-border M&A activity surged significantly to $893 billion during the first half, marking a 62% increase from the same period last year and representing the strongest start to a year since 2018. The US drew the most interest, accounting for 25% of cross-border transactions, with Britain ranking as a close second. According to Latham & Watkins' Sam Newhouse, AI or AI adjacent industries are one half of the equation, particularly in the US, while the other half is the HALO side - heavy assets, low obsolescence, big infrastructure and big industry that will continue no matter what impact AI has. Bankers also reported a record amount of corporate separation activity driving dealmaking as companies sought to adapt to shifting industry dynamics. High-profile examples include Comcast's planned spin-off of NBCUniversal, Honeywell's three-way breakup, and Unilever's sale of its foods business to McCormick & Co.
While the first half performance was remarkable, dealmakers expect the momentum to continue through the remainder of the year. According to Morgan Stanley's Jan Weber, momentum has actually started to accelerate behind the scenes over the last six weeks with a growing pipeline of cross-border, strategic deals, and he believes they are working towards the next peak. Goldman Sachs' Ed Wittig said companies are focused on growth with strong enthusiasm around synergies, and markets are rewarding those that execute well. Bankers told Reuters that cross-border strategic deals have accelerated in recent weeks, with a growing pipeline of transactions suggesting global M&A activity could potentially surpass the record levels seen after the pandemic in 2021. Easing regulatory hurdles in several major markets has improved confidence, with policymakers in Europe proposing reforms aimed at creating regional champions, while the U.S. administration is viewed as more receptive to large corporate combinations. In Japan, proposed governance reforms encouraging more efficient use of corporate cash are also expected to spur acquisitions by cash-rich companies.
