Global M&A Slows in Third Quarter as US Deal Activity Falls Nearly Half to $535 Billion

Yahoo Finance··US·Read original
3▲2 ▼2Impact / 5
Summary · why it matters

Global mergers and acquisitions activity slowed sharply in the third quarter from the second, with US deal activity falling by nearly half to $535 billion, according to Mergermarket data. Despite the lull, 2026 remains on pace for a record year in worldwide M&A deals by dollar value, buoyed by megadeals such as SpaceX's $55 billion acquisition of AI coding platform Cursor in June and NextEra Energy's $67 billion merger with Dominion Energy in May. Mergermarket head Lucinda Gutherie said it is natural to have a slowdown as the market digests those transactions, but warned that the reasons not to do a deal have been mounting, citing the Federal Reserve's 25 basis point rate hike, Treasury yields at multidecade highs, calls for a slowdown in the tech industry's artificial intelligence race, and the lengthening toll of the US war in Iran on energy and other prices. UBS analyst Erika Najarian wrote that while some of the investment banking slowdown can be attributed to a long summer, an unhappy bond market implies a deeper freeze in future activity. Deal fee forecasts from Wall Street banks have been mixed, with Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan noting a year-over-year drop of at least 10% in overall investment banking fees, JPMorgan projecting growth in the mid-to-high teens, and Citigroup expecting single-digit growth, while Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski said he remains a believer that M&A activity should accelerate. On Tuesday, smart ring maker Oura postponed its planned initial public offering, joining Holtec Nuclear and Bamboo Insurance in citing market conditions for retreating from planned public debuts.

Impact on assets 11

Financials▼
Bank of America Corp
BAC
▼ NegativeCapitalrelevance

Bank of America CEO Moynihan noted a year-over-year drop of at least 10% in overall investment banking fees amid the M&A slowdown.

Digital Finance & Tokenization▲
Citigroup Inc.
C
± MixedCapitalrelevance

Citigroup expects single-digit growth in deal fees even as Q3 M&A activity slowed sharply.

JPMorgan Chase & Co
JPM
▲ PositiveCapitalrelevance

JPMorgan projects investment banking fee growth in the mid-to-high teens despite the Q3 M&A lull.

Energy Transition & Power Demand▲
Space Economy▲
Others▼
Oura Inc.
OURA
▼ NegativeCapitalrelevance

Oura postponed its planned IPO, citing market conditions.

Off-coverage companies 4

Bamboo Insurancei
Private▼ NegativeCapitalrelevance

Bamboo Insurance withdrew from its planned IPO, citing market conditions.

Holtec Nuclear Corporationi
Private▼ NegativeCapitalrelevance

Holtec Nuclear retreated from its planned public debut, citing market conditions.

Cursori
Private± MixedCapitalrelevance

Named only as the AI coding platform acquired by SpaceX in the $55B June deal, not a subject of the slowdown.

Mergermarketi
Private± Mixedrelevance