greater transparency, adding as many as 121 hours to the preparation of filings for complex deals.¹⁴ The provisions are aimed at more aggressive antitrust enforcement and necessitate providing information up front that agencies would normally only receive after opening a preliminary investigation.¹⁵ Even if these new regulations were eventually relaxed, any change would likely be protracted—encumbered by the need to unwind a thicket of procedural rules.
Looking back at 2024 global M&A returns
In anticipating how these and other developments will influence trends in M&A in the year ahead, there’s still much to learn from the global market’s recent performance.
For all of 2024, the global value of deals over $25 million rose 12 percent (to $3.4 trillion, from $3.1 trillion in 2023) as the number of companies changing hands increased 8 percent (to 7,784, from 7,206 in 2023) (Exhibit 2). Average global deal value rose 4 percent (to $443 million from $424 million in 2023) as macroeconomic conditions improved and as dealmakers—toughened by repeated rounds of volatility—grew more inured to geopolitical tensions and political transitions.
Exhibit 2
Globally, M&A activity increased 12 percent in 2024.
Announced global M&A deals, 2015–24¹
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Chart: Deals (thousand) - Line Chart
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(World map icon)
¹ Announced deals not withdrawn or canceled; deal value >$25 million.
Source: Dealogic; McKinsey M&A Insights
McKinsey & Company
¹⁴ Anat Alon-Beck, “New FTC rules tighten the screws on private equity in mergers,” United States Law Week, October 21, 2024.
¹⁵ Ryan Phair, Michael Murray, and Catherine Kordestani, “Dealmakers face a time-consuming filing burden under new rules,” United States Law Week, October 24, 2024.