M&A activity in North America had a banner year in 2018—and through the first half of the year, 2019 has followed suit with more than $849 billion invested across 4,754 deals.
On top of that, dozens of mega-deals have been announced. In fact, the 10 largest announced deals have a combined value of $486.7 billion—nearly equivalent to the first quarter’s total. Should these deals close, 2019 would likely mark the fifth consecutive year in which North American M&A deal value tops $2.0 trillion.
What are mega-deals?
A mega-deal is a merger or acquisition valued at $5 billion or more. These expansionary transactions are often used to increase scale and cut costs, leading to savings. One recent trend driving mega-deals is that many firms have been lowering R&D spending and choosing to acquire technologies rather than build in-house.
Completed mega-deals
Salesforce and Tableau
Data visualization software company, Tableau, was acquired by Salesforce in early August. The acquisition is expected to accelerate Salesforce’s ability to deliver customer success by enabling a unified and powerful view across datasets.
$15.7B
Deal amount
August 1, 2019
Deal date
Fiserv and First Data
First Data, a provider of e-commerce solutions, was acquired by Fiserv in July. Fiserv shareholders will own 57.5% of the combined company, while First Data shareholders will have 42.5%.
$22B
Deal amount
July 29, 2019
Deal date
Occidental Petroleum and Anadarko Petroleum
Occidental Petroleum, an international oil and gas exploration and production company, acquired Anadarko Petroleum, an exploration and production company based in the Woodlands, Texas.
$38B
Deal amount
August 8, 2019
Deal date
Fidelity National Information Services and Worldpay
Worldpay was acquired by Fidelity National Information Services in July. The deal is the latest in a wave of consolidation in the financial software and payments technology sectors as firms bulk up to compete with newcomers seeking to disrupt the way merchants are paid.
$43B
Deal amount
July 31, 2019
Deal date
Announced mega-deals
Centene and WellCare Health Plans
WellCare Health Plans, a managed care organization focused on government-sponsored care services, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Centene in March.
$15.27B
Deal amount
Early 2020
Expected deal date
Global Payments and Total System Services
Total System Services, which provides payment-processing services, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Global Payments in May. The acquisition is also expected to substantially expand Global Payments’ e-commerce and omnichannel solutions presence in the US.
$21.5B
Deal amount
Late 2019
Expected deal date
T-Mobile and Sprint
In July, the US Justice Department approved the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint after a year of waiting, but the FCC still needs to clear the deal as well.
$26.5B
Deal amount
Unclear
Expected deal date
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene
Celgene, a biopharmaceutical firm focused on cancer treatment, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb. Celgene shareholders will receive one Bristol-Myers Squibb share and $50 in cash for each share held.
$89.5B
Deal amount
Early 2020
Expected deal date
United Technologies and Raytheon
Raytheon, a US defense contractor, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by United Technologies on June 9, 2019. The transaction will create a premier systems provider with advanced technologies to address rapidly growing segments within aerospace and defense.
$121B
Deal amount
Early 2020
Expected deal date
Want to learn more about how mega-deals have shaped the M&A landscape this year? Download our 2Q 2019 North American M&A report.
