M&A touched record levels in H1 2026, but the market was increasingly defined by scale rather than breadth. The total value of announced deals hit $2.85tn in the first six months (LSEG), up 50% YoY and the highest year-to-date total since LSEG records began in 1980. Yet the total number announced fell 9% to 24,000 so far in 2026, a six-year low.
Download PDF History Unilever’s [LON: ULVR] corporate structure has historically been defined by the coexistence of food and personal care businesses, which originated from the 1929 merger between Margarine Unie and Lever Brothers. The rationale for this consolidation at that time was largely based on scale and distribution synergies, but Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The benefits of competition are supported by a strong economic literature and are clear to most market participants. In competitive markets, firms are forced to maintain low prices in order to gain market share or avoid being undercut by rivals, ultimately benefiting consumers. Additionally, rivalry among firms Read more…
Download PDF Introduction 2025 concluded with the resurgence of megadeals (transactions valued over $5bn), as encapsulated by headlines such as Netflix’s [NASDAQ: NFLX] $82.7bn bid for Warner Bros. Discovery [NASDAQ: WBD]. In contrast to Q4 2024, total deal value has increased by 127.6%, with M&A activity rising by 19.1% for Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The past year has been difficult for the global automotive industry. Profitability has fallen, share prices have weakened, and several leading manufacturers have struggled to meet expectations. In this article, we explore the factors that led to this downturn and the reasons why even large-scale, multi-brand groups Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The global mining industry has recently been under the spotlight with the announcement of a $53bn merger deal between Anglo American [LSE: AAL] and Teck Resources [TSX: TECK.A], the largest deal in the sector in over a decade. Mining remains a cornerstone of the global economy. From Read more…
Download PDF Introduction 2025 began with cautious optimism about an uptick in M&A over the course of the year, however, it was challenged by higher than expected uncertainty around trade policies, geopolitical tensions and economic growth. Global M&A volumes declined by 9% in H1 2025 compared to H1 2024, while Read more…
Download PDF Introduction In today’s fast-evolving mergers and acquisitions landscape, a hidden battleground is emerging—one where minority shareholders can challenge the terms of a merger and potentially unlock significant hidden value. This arena is defined by appraisal rights, a legal mechanism that empowers investors who oppose a deal to bypass Read more…
Download PDF What has happened in the last 5 years? Over the past five years, M&A activity has experienced dramatic fluctuations, reaching both record highs and record lows. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 brought deal activity to a near standstill as companies prioritised safeguarding employees’ health and Read more…
Download PDF Introduction A hostile takeover is defined as the sum of the actions of an entity to take control of a company, by acquiring more than 50% of its voting shares without the knowledge of or against the will of the acquired company’s management. Hostile takeovers are often attempted Read more…
Download PDF Introduction In the last two decades, the American skies underwent a radical transformation shaped by significant mergers. Southwest [LUV: NYSE], Delta [DAL: NYSE], United [UAL: NASDAQ] and American Airlines [AAL: NASDAQ] emerged as dominant players, holding 71.5% of the U.S. market. Contrastingly, Europe has faced a more fragmented Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Since Joe Biden was elected President of the United States in late 2020, antitrust enforcement action has, in the general population’s mind, moved from something we read about in history textbooks to something dominating the headlines. Whether it is through challenging the latest multi-billion dollar merger or Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The potential $23bn hostile takeover of Teck Resources (NYSE: TECK) by the commodities behemoth, Glencore (LON: GLEN), would mark a significant moment in the industry. The Canadian family-controlled company has long been a prized asset eyed by the biggest industry players; however, its organisational structure was thought Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The healthcare industry saw a surge in M&A activity post-pandemic in 2021 which stretched across geographies and was driven by an incentive to consolidate healthcare systems to exploit economies of scale, fill pipelines, and boost top-line growth. In 2022, macroeconomic conditions, namely uncertainty, inflation, and high labour Read more…
Download PDF Introduction This week Merck & Co. announced one of the biggest healthcare deals disclosed so far in 2023. The US drug maker reached an agreement with Prometheus Biosciences to acquire the company in an all-cash transaction that values Prometheus at $10.8bn, a 75% premium to its market cap Read more…