M&A activity across the US and Canada slowed in the second quarter of 2024 to the lowest level since the early days of the pandemic, owing to relatively high interest rates and financing challenges.
The total number of transactions announced in the second quarter fell to 4,000, down 2.4% from the preceding quarter and 8% less than the second quarter of 2023, according to the latest S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The quarter marked the lowest total number of deals since the second quarter of 2020, when 3,440 were announced.
June was particularly slow for M&A in the two countries with just 1,236 deals, the smallest monthly number since May 2020 when there were only 1,026 transactions, the data shows.
The total value of deals in the US and Canada amounted to $276.28 billion in the second quarter, down from $390.12 billion in the first quarter. The second-quarter deal value was up slightly from $272.36 billion a year earlier.
While there have been 8,097 M&A deals in both countries through the first six months of 2024, down from 9,102 in the year-ago period, the aggregate value of these transactions was $666.40 billion, up from about $543.5 billion in the first half of 2023.
Largest deals
Three of the 10 largest deals in the US and Canada in the first half of 2024 took place in the second quarter.
ConocoPhillips' proposed acquisition of Marathon Oil Corp. announced in May was the largest transaction in the second quarter, at $22.53 billion, and the fourth largest so far this year. The pending transaction is one of the three oil and gas industry deals in the top 10 so far in 2024.
Sector breakdown
The number of M&A deals fell throughout nearly all sectors from the first quarter to the second. The exceptions are real estate, which saw 188 deals in the second quarter, matching the preceding quarter, and unclassified deals, which climbed to 657 in the second quarter from 578 during the first quarter.
The steepest fall in M&A activity was in the energy and utilities category with 142 deals in the second quarter, 62 less than the previous quarter. The financial sector's 363 deals were 43 less than the first quarter, while the 306 deals in healthcare represent a drop of 34 from the preceding quarter.