Global M&A Report

Global M&A keeps calm and carries on

After a record-breaking 2021, M&A held strong even as global markets ran off the rails. Mountains of dry powder, shifting strategies and well-capitalized strategic investors propelled deal value above pre-pandemic levels.

Our 2022 Annual Global M&A Report, sponsored by Liberty GTS, breaks down last year's trends by region and sector and explores the forces likely to shape the market in the months to come.

Key takeaways include:

• Buyers took advantage of cheaper prices, with median deal multiples declining to 8.8x from a 14-year high of 11.1x.
• Platform companies made good use of their sponsors' cash, rocketing add-ons to more than 70% of all buyout deals.
• Cross-border investors flipped the script, with North American acquirers accounting for 21% of all European M&A value.
• B2B companies took center stage as investors sought out bootstrapped and founder-owned businesses. More than 11,000 nonbacked private B2B companies were acquired, twice as many as any other sector.