Year of the mega-merger

Driven by megadeals between pharmaceutical, energy and consumer giants, and powered by cheap credit, the value of mergers and acquisitions in 2015 hit a record $4.59 trillion
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Deal value ($ trillion) 0 1 2 3 4 5
2003 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
1.45 2.06 2.93 3.91 4.29 2.89 1.97 2.43 2.56 2.59 2.13 3.50 4.59
2003-07: Pre-crisis credit boom
Global mega-deals
67 worth $10bn-plus
18 worth $30bn-plus

Americas $2.48 trillion 50 megadeals worth $1.40 trillion
Asia-Pacific $1.20 trillion
EMEA* $880 billion
Other $30bn
Eight megadeals $171.8bn
Nine megadeals $301.2bn
*Europe, Middle East and Africa
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Biggest mergers and acquisitions
$160bn Pfizer and Allergan
$107bn Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller 
$79.3bn Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group
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Sources: Dealogic, Thomson Reuters Mergers and Acquisitions Review, IMAA