June, July and August 2022 were the quietest such period in the last decade for large M&A transactions, bringing no deals globally worth more than $10 billion.

This year is the first in at least the last decade without a $10 billion-plus deal in June, July or August, in stark contrast from previous years. Of the June through August periods from 2014 through 2021, all had at least eight global M&A deals worth $10 billion or more.

Unity Software Inc. and AppLovin Corp. announced a $17.55 billion deal on Aug. 9, but the transaction was terminated less than a week later when Unity's board of directors recommended against completing it.

The slowdown in $10 billion-plus M&A deals, especially in the United States, can be tied to multiple factors. Increased regulatory scrutiny has made large banks hesitant to pursue megadeals, while longer deal delays may have contributed to a lack of megadeals being closed this summer. Other factors, including economic uncertainty tied to inflation and a rising rate environment, appear to have disrupted the megadeal trend of past summers.

Sleepy Q3

With no deals announced through the first two months of the third quarter, it is likely that the quarter will be the slowest so far this year for large deals since both the first and second quarters had at least 10 announced deals greater than $10 billion.

At its current pace, the third quarter would be the quietest for $10 billion-plus deal announcements of any quarter dating back to 2017. Each of the previous 22 completed quarters has featured at least four announced deals greater than $10 billion.

Previous summers

Summer 2012 featured three deals worth a combined $45.95 billion while summer 2013 featured three deals worth a combined $39.27 billion. The two summers also tied for the second-least amount of $10 billion-plus M&A deals, behind summer 2022.