M&A activity in December 2018 declined across most measures. While M&A activity reached 12-month lows both globally and in the U.S., the declines in the U.S. were significantly more pronounced. Deal volume by dollar value decreased, by 55.2 percent to $65.36 billion in the U.S., and by 17.4 percent to $216.72 billion globally. In the U.S. the average value of announced public mergers declined to a 12-month low of $1.35 billion. The number of deals also decreased, by 17.3 percent to 430 in the U.S., and by 12.6 percent to 2,250 globally, hitting the lowest levels for number of deals both in the U.S. and globally in the history of this publication (below the previous record lows set in November).
