MUMBAI, September 3 — The pace of American dealmaking hit a mid-summer lull in July, with both the number of transactions and the total dollars committed falling sharply from June, according to a FactSet Insight report published Tuesday. Merger and acquisition announcements slipped 13.6% month-over-month to 1,195 deals, down from 1,383 in June. Aggregate spending took an even harder hit, with total deal value dropping 46.1% compared with the previous month.
The data spans 21 tracked sectors. The pullback was not uniform.
Over the three months ended July, 12 of the 21 sectors recorded more M&A activity than in the same period a year earlier. Commercial Services led the charge with 499 deals versus 417, followed by Industrial Services (273 vs. 211), Distribution Services (148 vs. 116), Health Technology (113 vs. 98) and Consumer Durables (46 vs. 33). The other eight sectors lost ground.
Finance saw the steepest slide, dropping to 787 deals from 951, while Consumer Services fell to 194 from 244. Technology Services slipped to 782 from 801, Utilities to 54 from 66, and Consumer Non-Durables to 71 from 82.
Even in a quieter month, the megadeals that did clear showed where capital is flowing. The largest announced transactions included Sazerac Co., Inc.’s unsolicited $15 billion bid for Brown-Forman Corp., and Solstice Advanced Materials, Inc.’s $12.2 billion agreement to acquire Element Solutions, Inc. A private group led by the Khosla family agreed to buy the Seattle Seahawks from the estate of Paul G.
Allen for a reported $9.6 billion, while Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. struck a $9 billion deal for Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. rounded out the top tier with a $5.9 billion acquisition of MarketAxess Holdings, Inc. FactSet noted the report is for informational purposes only and not legal, tax or investment advice, adding that it does not endorse any investments and assumes no liability for actions taken based on the data.
