Mega deals are back with a vengeance. A post “liberation day” malaise in activity after US President Donald Trump first picked trade fights with tariff rises is over. The chief executives of the world’s big companies have decided to get back in the game.
In the past month alone, Electronic Arts was taken private for $55bn in the biggest leveraged buyout on record, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway snapped up OxyChem for $10bn, and American Water Works merged with Essential Utilities in a $63bn transaction. And more big ones are expected to come, including the possible acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, the Hollywood studio behind HBO and CNN which could be taken over for nearly $100bn including debt.
“It’s probably one of the busiest times I’ve ever seen in my long career,” says Leon Kalvaria, global chair of banking at Citigroup. “Equity markets are at all-time highs, boardroom confidence is strong, and companies are evaluating a wide range of transactions.”