It’s the best start of the year since at least 1998, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Mergers and acquisitions soared in every region, with North America acquirers leading the way with $644 billion of transactions. Deals by European buyers rose 41% to $286 billion, while companies in Asia Pacific spent $261 billion.
“I haven’t seen these levels of activity for a long time and I don’t see a meaningful slowdown any time soon,” said Alison Harding-Jones, head of M&A for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Citigroup Inc. “Stocks are highly valued, financing markets are supportive and there’s money coming in from a number of places.”