The Biggest Deals Of 2024

As the year comes to a close, the overall level of global mergers and acquisitions activity in 2024 is expected to be $3.5 trillion, a modest increase of 15% over last year’s $3.2 billion, according to Dealogic data cited in a recent Bain & Company report. But thanks to lingering high rates and a tightened regulatory environment, this year’s dealmaking total remains well off its peak of $6.1 trillion in 2021.

The largest transaction of 2024 was ExxonMobil’s $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources in May, which doubled the oil and gas giant’s footprint in Texas’s Permian Basin. The second largest, Mars’s $35.9 billion takeover of Kellanova, created a snack food colossus. The third, Capital One’s proposed $35.3 billion purchase of Discovery Financial, would shake up the U.S. consumer banking industry, but faces political pressure and has yet to close. Of the 10 largest deals announced or completed in 2024, two involved private equity firms, while the other eight were between corporates.

U.S. antitrust authorities blocked Albertson’s $25 billion takeover of Kroger, which would have been the fifth biggest deal this year. The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the merger in February; earlier this month, amid the ongoing battle in court, Albertsons formally pulled out of the deal and sued Kroger for breach of contract, accusing its rival of tanking the transaction (which Kroger denies).

The good news for dealmakers is that antitrust scrutiny is likely to ease under Donald Trump, who announced earlier this month that he plans to replace FTC chair Lina Kahn with Andrew Ferguson, a current FTC commissioner and Republican who has frequently dissented from Kahn’s enforcement actions. Additional cuts to interest rates could also help facilitate more deals, as the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell revealed last week that the central bank is now projecting just two interest rate cuts in 2025 (compared to a projection of four cuts in September). Lower rates, a more relaxed FTC, and the expected renewal of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts already has some dealmakers predicting a 14% surge to $4 trillion in deals for 2025.

Going into the new year, M&A watchers will be on the lookout for transactions such as Alphabet making a bid for either CRM provider HubSpot or cybersecurity firm Wiz (two of its previous reported targets), semiconductor maker Qualcomm scooping up struggling chipmaker Intel, and mattress supplier Tempur Sealy’s stalled $4 billion bid for rival Mattress Firm. One megadeal reportedly in the works, the $60 billion management buyout of 7-Eleven operator Seven & i, could also top the charts in 2025. (The firm said in November that no decision has yet been made).

Here are the 10 biggest deals that were completed or formally announced in 2024.

1. ExxonMobil’s $64.5 Billion Acquisition Of Pioneer Natural Resources

Oil and gas giant ExxonMobile completed its all-stock deal for Pioneer Natural Resources in May, making it the largest acquisition of 2024. The oil and gas giant, which has a market capitalization of $476 billion, paid $59 billion in stock and assumed $5.5 billion of Pioneer’s debt.

The acquisition doubled ExxonMobil’s footprint in the Permian Basin, where Pioneer was one of the largest producers of crude. To get the deal approved, Exxon agreed to bar former Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield from serving on its board of directors. The FTC has accused Sheffield of colluding with OPEC to inflate crude oil prices; Sheffield has denied these claims.

2. Mars’ $35.9 Billion Acquisition Of Kellanova

Mars, the candy giant whose brands include Skittles and M&M’s, inked a deal in August to buy Kellanova—makers of snacks like Pringles and Cheez-It crackers—for $35.9 billion in cash. The transaction, which would be the largest in the packaged food industry in over a decade, is expected to close in the first half of 2025, pending regulatory clearance.

3. Capital One’s $35.3 Billion Acquisition Of Discovery Financial

Consumer bank Capital One announced in February that it plans to buy Discovery Financial in an all-stock deal, which has yet to close. If the deal goes through, Capital One shareholders will own 60% and Discover shareholders will own 40% of the combined company.

The deal has faced political pushback, including from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said the deal would give Capital One “unprecedented powers to extort American consumers.” New York attorney general Letitita James has reportedly opened an antitrust investigation.

The FTC has not said whether it intends to block the deal, though some consumers are already trying to do so. In July, two Capital One customers brought a class action lawsuit in an effort to block the merger over claims that the combination will raise costs. Capital One and Discover called the suit’s allegations of harm “entirely speculative.” Capital One said on a recent earnings call that it expects the deal to close in 2025.

4. Synopsys’ $35 Billion Acquisition Of Ansys

Chip design giant Synopsys agreed to buy its smaller rival Ansys in January for $35 billion in a cash-and-stock deal. Both companies are American, but the U.K. antitrust watchdog is reportedly investigating the deal and weighing a legal attempt to block it. Synopsys says it is confident the transaction will close in the first half of 2025.

5. Silver Lake’s $25 Billion Take-Private Of Endeavor

Silver Lake, a technology investment firm led by billionaire Egon Durban, agreed to buy the remaining shares in entertainment agency Endeavor Holdings, a company that it already controlled. Silver Lake’s bid valued the company at $13 billion—a 55% premium of its unaffected share price.

The proposed deal follows the 2023 merger of Endeavor’s Ultimate Fighting Championship with World Wrestling Entertainment into the newly listed TKO Group Holdings. Silver Lake says that with Endeavor’s majority stake in TKO Group, the newly private company will have a total enterprise value of $25 billion, making it “the largest private equity sponsor public-to-private investment transaction in over a decade, and the largest ever in the media and entertainment sector.” The deal is on track to close early next year.

6. Verizon’s $19.6 Billion Acquisition Of Frontier Communications

Verizon and Frontier announced their nearly $20 billion tie-up in September. Under the proposed terms, Verizon agreed to pay $9.6 billion for Frontier’s equity and absorb the smaller broadband firm’s roughly $10 billion debt.

The deal follows activist pressure from Jana Partners, which had built a position in Frontier and been advocating for a sale. Frontier shareholders recently voted to approve the transaction, but some prominent shareholders, including Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm led by billionaire Steve Feinberg, objected, arguing that Verizon is underpaying. The fighting over price is likely to continue, as the deal will take 18 months to close, Reuters reported last month.

7. Home Depot’s $18.25 Billion Acquisition Of SRS Distribution

Home Depot closed its all-cash purchase of SRS Distribution in June. A distributor of building products, particularly roofing supplies, SRS Distribution generated $9.6 billion in sales in 2023. The add-on grows Home Depot’s total addressable market by approximately $50 billion to a whopping $1 trillion, according to Home Depot, whose shares have climbed about 17% since the deal closed.

8. Novo Holdings’ $16.5 Billion Acquisition Of Catalent

Last week, Novo Holdings, the parent company of Danish pharma company Novo Nordisk, closed its all-cash deal for Catalent, a drug manufacturer with over 50 global supply sites that generated $4.3 billion in revenue last year. As part of the deal, Novo Nordisk will take control of three facilities that will be fully dedicated to making Wegovy, the drugmaker’s popular weight loss injectable.

9 The $15.5 Billion Sale Of Trust Insurance Holdings

In May, bank holding company Truist Financial Corp sold its remaining 78% stake in Truist Insurance Holdings, the fifth largest U.S. insurance brokerage by assets, to a consortium led by private equity investors Stone Point Capital, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund. The transaction valued the insurance business at $15.5 billion.

Truist Financial is no stranger to M&A: The company formed in 2019 as the combined entity of a $28 billion tie-up between BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust Company) and SunTrust Banks. It is now the 10th largest bank with $523 billion in assets.

10. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 Billion Acquisition Of Juniper Networks

HPE’s proposed $14 billion acquisition Juniper Networks, a network equipment manufacturer, would boost the enterprise software maker’s artificial intelligence capabilities. Investors have cheered the acquisition, driving up HPE’s shares by over 25% this year.

The deal faces scrutiny. In November, representatives from both companies reportedly met with U.S. antitrust enforcers in a bid to persuade them to not block the acquisition. Anthony Neri, CEO of HPE, says the deal would benefit customers and strengthen national security.