Why 2016 is already the worst year for collapsed M&A deals in the US
The collapses of five $10bn-plus valued deals this year have led to unprecedented levels of cancelled mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the US.
Some $378.2bn (£260.8bn) worth of US-targeted deals have been been called off so far this year, according to Dealogic.
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This is up 64 per cent on the full-year total cancelled in 2015, $231.1bn, and is already the largest full-year total on record.
Globally, withdrawn M&A volume stands at $465.5bn so far in 2016, more than double the $189.9bn seen in the same period in 2015.
The figures were boosted by the collapse of the $160bn Pfizer-Allergan merger, which ended after the US Treasury Department introduced new inversion rules.
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Also in April, Halliburton and Baker Hughes called of their $28bn merger, which would have been the largest deal ever in the oil and gas sector.
This also followed intervention from authorities in the US, with the Department of Justice seeking to put a stop to the deal on competition grounds.
According to Dealogic, global M&A volume so far in 2016 stands at $1.04 trillion, down 19 per cent on 2015, which was a record year for announced deals.