
Amid Frantic Dealmaking, Political Storm Clouds Gather
Let's make a deal. Lots of them.
2021's first half witnessed the highest volume of M&A in more than two decades (figure below), Goldman observed, in a note dated Friday evening.
On the heels of 2020's historic corporate debt binge and frantic equity issuance, corporate cash balances are swollen. In fact, cash/asset ratios have not only recovered from the pandemic slump, but now sit near record highs. Some of that cash is being deployed on M&A.
"YTD, $1.9 trillion of deal value for U