M&A activity for U.S. targets totaled $415.9 billion (based on 2,385 deals) during the first quarter of 2015, reflecting an increase of 33 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014 and the strongest first quarter for U.S. M&A since 2000. The top three sectors in the U.S. market were: (1) health care, with deal volume totaling $90.7 billion (a 21.8 percent market share); (2) consumer staples, with $61 billion (a 14.7 percent market share); and (3) real estate, with $43.6 billion (a 10.5 percent market share).
Cross-border M&A activity totaled $267.0 billion during the first quarter of 2015, accounting for 31 percent of overall M&A volume and a 10 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2014. In comparison, cross-border M&A accounted for 36 percent of total M&A activity during the first quarter of 2014.