Netflix Deal for Warner Bros. Pushes Global M&A Toward 2021 Peak

(Bloomberg) — Global mergers and acquisitions are having their best year since 2021, with year-end deals pushing deal volumes to more than $3 trillion.

Netflix Inc.’s Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. Its $72 billion deal with , the biggest debt-included acquisition of the year, underscores how corporate giants are turning to bold, game-changing mergers and acquisitions under the deal-friendly Trump administration.

Dealmakers are betting they have a once-in-a-generation chance to pull off their dream deals with little or no pushback from antitrust regulators. The companies have been able to leverage record-breaking financing packages, including Netflix’s $59 billion loan, which will be among the largest of its kind.

This sentiment also echoes Kimberly-Clark Corp.’s acquisition of Tylenol maker Kenvue Inc. in November. and the $40 billion deal it made for BlackRock Inc. in October. He also helped support the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers, led by Additionally, Union Pacific Corp.’s railroad operator, Norfolk Southern Corp. There is a deal it made in July for more than $80 billion, including debt; a transaction that would have been unimaginable under the previous administration.

As of Thursday, global merger and acquisition volumes for the year reached $3.3 trillion, up 37% from 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This suggests that 2025 is on track to be the best year for deal-making since 2021, when $3.8 trillion in transactions were announced.

The increase is even sharper in the United States, where deals for companies in that country are up 53% to almost $1.8 trillion, just below the highest level in 2021, the data shows.

In addition to the 32 deals worth more than $10 billion this year, the U.S. originated almost 300 deals totaling $1 billion or more. These include industrial equipment maker SPX Flow Inc.’s acquisition by ITT Inc. on Friday, confirming a Bloomberg News report. There were also transactions such as its acquisition by A.Ş. for almost 4.8 billion dollars.

The enterprise value of the Netflix deal is approximately $82.7 billion. The transaction, which also confirmed an earlier report from Bloomberg News that the deal was imminent, comes as Wall Street advisors and clients are trying to close deals before the traditional holiday slowdown.

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