U.S. dealmaking at record year-to-date high

LONDON

Traders work shortly after the opening bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange May 21, 2015.

Reuters/Lucas Jackson

Dealmaking in the United States has made its strongest start to a year since Reuters records began in 1980, climbing 52 percent year on year to $746.9 billion in the Jan. 1 to May 28 period. Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity was boosted this week when Charter Communications (CHTR.O) said it would acquire larger rival Time Warner Cable (TWC.N) for $56 billion and Avago Technologies (AVGO.O) agreed to buy rival chipmaker Broadcom Corp (BRCM.O) for $37 billion.
The Time Warner deal also propelled cable M&A up 42 percent year on year to $97.2 billion.
Morgan Stanley (MS.N), which advised Time Warner Cable on its second approach from Charter Communications, along with Citi (C.N), Allen & Co and Centerview, tops the list of U.S. M&A advisers.
Global M&A activity is up 35 percent from the
same period in 2014, with $1.7 trillion of deals having been struck.