Skyline Advisors has released its latest Capital Markets Review: Midwest Edition for the third quarter of 2019. The report details activity and trends for mergers and acquisitions, private equity deals, and venture capital deals for both national and Midwest geographies. Key highlights include:

• National M&A: Though total US M&A deal count declined 18% from Q2, the total value of deals increased 37% in the third quarter, reaching a value of $340 billion
• Midwest M&A: Total Midwest M&A value topped $25 billion through the third quarter, led by Mutual of Omaha Bank’s $1-billion sale to CIT Group
• Private Equity: Amid economic uncertainty, PE investors deployed less capital across fewer deals in the third quarter: both nationally and in the Midwest
• PE Fundraising: Fundraising among private equity funds nearly topped all of 2018, with $191 billion raised year to date through Q3 compared to $196 billion in all of 2018
• Venture Capital: Midwest venture capitalists deployed the most capital ($263 million) in a quarter since last year and across the most investments (51 deals) in a quarter in more than three years

The 14-page report also contains economic data and public market data of interest to owners and managers of middle market businesses. Access a complimentary copy of the full report here.

​According to preliminary data from Pitchbook, there were 752 M&A deals worth a total of $240 billion in July, remaining relatively unchanged from the $237 billion spent on corporate acquisition and leveraged buyout deals in June. Over 60% of the deal value is comprised of the buyouts of five target companies: Worldpay, L3 Technologies, Red Hat, First Data, and Array BioPharma. 

​The stock market rebounded strongly in June from a weak May performance, with major indices increasing approximately 7% on the back of increased hope for a trade truce with China and signals from the Federal Reserve that a rate cut may come this year. The month closed out the best first half market performance since 1997

In June, there were 643 deals in M&A capital markets worth a combined $270 billion, the highest level since the start of the decade in 2010. However, 45% of that value is attributable to United Technologies’ blockbuster acquisition of defense contractor Raytheon. In fact, the deal is the largest since Time Warner acquired AOL in January 2001.

​There were 720 M&A deals valued at a combined $194 billion in May, according to Pitchbook. For the year through the end of the May, there were 3,756 deals for $906 billion capital, roughly 1,140 fewer deals and $506 billion less value for the same period in 2018.

Pitchbook data reveals that $9.5 billion was invested across 27 M&A deals in the U.S. last week, 6 fewer deals and $75 billion less capital after outsized M&A activity in the week prior. Two deals – targets Cray and Hulu - were in the billion-dollar range. The Walt-Disney Company acquired full control of Hulu for $5.8 billion, after what once was joint ownership by Disney, 21st Century Fox, Comcast, and Time-Warner.

Data from Pitchbook shows that $84.5 billion was invested in 33 deals across American M&A markets last week, 10 more deals and $71.1 billion capital than the week prior. Four of those deals were for over $2.5 billion, including $38-billion and $23.3-billion-dollar deals, both of which were in the energy space. Another deal that caught significant media coverage was that of Boston Beer Co., the brewer of Samuel Adams brand beers, which paid $300 million to acquire Dogfish Head Brewery, a craft beer maker from Milton, Delaware. Dogfish produces over 250,000 barrels of beer annually.

​Pitchbook data reveals there were 23 deals for $13.4 billion invested capital in M&A markets last week. That is $9.8 billion more capital than the week before on two fewer deals. Two billion-dollar deals, 3M’s acquisition of KCI Holdings and Parker Hannifin’s acquisition of Lord, drove the increase in value from last week, contributing $6.7 billion and $3.7 billion, respectively, to the increase. M&A news was encapsulated by Occidental Petroleum and Chevron’s bidding war for Anadarko Petroleum and their Permian Basin shale-oil fields. Warren Buffett has committed to financing $10 billion of Occidental’s bid.

Pitchbook data shows M&A activity slowing last week, with $3.6 billion invested across 24 deals, $11.2 billion capital and seven deals fewer than the week prior. Japanese multinational conglomerate Hitachi shelled out $1.43 billion for Michigan-based industrial robotics integrator JR Automation in the week’s largest deal. Deal making in the cannabis space was hot last week, with four U.S. cannabis producers and distributors being acquired.

​Data supplied by Pitchbook reveals that $14.8 billion in capital was deployed across 31 M&A transactions last week, four deals more and $28.8 billion less capital than the elevated levels of the week prior. The largest deal of the week was Waste Management’s $4.9 billion acquisition of Advanced Disposal, which will help expand the nation’s largest waste collector’s East Coast operations. Also, Canopy Growth announced a deal to acquire Acreage Holdings once cannabis is federally legalized in the U.S.