After rebounding in the latter part of 2020, M&A activity continued to gain steam into 2021. The $2.6 trillion in total U.S. deal value for 2021 was an increase of 75% over 2020, and the $5.6 trillion in total global deal value for 2021 was an increase of 58% over 2020. Ultimately, both figures were record breakers: total U.S. deal value was 37% higher than the previous record (set in 2015), and total global deal value was 31% higher than the previous record (set in 2007). Deal count was also up domestically in 2021, with 9,618 U.S. deals, a 13% increase from 2020. Global deal count remained flat, with 33,878 deals, a 0.1% decrease from 2020.
