Global mergers and acquisition activity in 2019 totaled $2.2 trillion through Thursday, down 5.6% year-over-year from the same period a year ago. Deals focused on North American targets represented more than half the global value at $1.2 trillion, while European deals were about $494 billion in aggregate. Both regions showed double-digit declines compared to June 2018 data, North American deals were 10.4% lower and European deals were down 16.4%. Significant increases were seen in the Middle East and Africa, driven by Saudi Aramco's $69.1 billion purchase of a controlling stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp.
U.S. deals were headlined by United Technologies $90 billion acquisition of Raytheon on June 9 and Bristol-Myers Squibb's $69.1 billion deal for Celgene.
Deal premiums ticked up to an average 25.3% in the second quarter from 23.4% the quarter before.
