M&A activity during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

We investigate whether the COVID-19 pandemic initiated merger waves at the aggregate and industry levels. The COVID-19 pandemic coincides with economic shocks, wide adoption of new technologies, and volatility in stock and energy markets, all potential triggers of restructuring activity. Our sample covers 104,464 acquisition deals of US targets from 2012 to 2022. We identify 37 industry-level merger waves. Twenty-three merger waves start during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighty percent of the deals during the pandemic were part of an industry merger wave. This concentration of industry waves drove an aggregate merger wave starting on April 2020.