2018’s Most Notable Mergers and Acquisitions So Far

The first half of 2018 saw announcements of over $2.5 trillion in mergers, setting a record stretch of deals. These mergers and acquisitions were largely in the energy and power, media, health care, industrial, financial, and tech space, as competitors of Silicon Valley fought against its continued ruthless pursuit of market domination. M&A activity reached an all-time high on both a global and a national scale, as we saw more and more mega deals take place. Some of the most noteworthy mergers and acquisitions factors in the first half of the year were as follows:

• There was a 61 percent increase in the value of acquisitions compared to the same time period in 2017
• Predictions have mergers exceeding $5 trillion by the end of the year
• The number of deals involving companies based in different countries almost doubled compared to the same time period in 2017
• Deals of $10 billion or more in total value has risen significantly in 2018, compared to the last 20 years
• The value of media deals is up 440 percent compared to last year

Private equity and corporate executives across the nation agree that mergers and acquisitions will continue to see a substantial acceleration, in terms of both the size of transactions and the number of deals made. With increased competition in most of the major markets, consolidation via merger or acquisition continues to be an attractive option for large companies.

The following are some of the most notable mergers and acquisitions so far in 2018:

1. AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner
2. The Walt Disney Company’s purchase of 21^st Century Fox
3. Takeda Pharmaceutical’s purchase of Shire
4. Cigna’s purchase of Express Scripts
5. Comcast Corporation’s purchase of Sky
6. Bayer’s purchase of Monsanto
7. ON SE’s purchase of Innogy SE
8. Coca-Cola’s purchase of Costa
9. T-Mobile’s purchase of Sprint
10. Marathon Petroleum Corp’s purchase of Andeavor
11. CVS’s purchase of Aetna
12. ConAgra’s purchase of Pinnacle Foods
13. Walmart’s purchase of Flipkart
14. IBM’s purchase of Red Hat
15. Keurig Green Mountain’s purchase of Dr Pepper Snapple Group

About 41 percent of global deals involved U.S.-based companies, followed much further behind by Britain and China. With tech giants on their toes, major players in the energy and power, media, and health care industries are reacting speedily in their efforts to consolidate and thus compete. With the first half of 2018 looking strong as ever, the trends are clearly pointing in a positive direction for many more mergers and acquisitions throughout the rest of the 2018 year.

At Ellrich, Neal, Smith & Stohlman, P.A., our tax planning service goes far beyond filing a tax return. We assist new businesses with basic ownership options and tax consequences and guide growing businesses through year-end planning and projections. We offer a broad range of consulting services that include evaluating material transactions, mergers and acquisitions, international taxation strategies, and estate and trust planning. Contact our Miami or Palm Beach Gardens offices today to learn more!