M&A megadeals in 2015 highest since 1999 and feeding frenzy should continue

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the first six months of 2015 reached the highest level since 2007, according to new data from Dealogic.

The first half of the year saw worldwide deals worth a total of $2.3trn, the second biggest half-year total since records began.

There were 31 megadeals worth more than $10bn, accounting for more than a third of the total, which was the most since the dotcom frenzy in the second half of 1999, according to analysis by AP.

Seven of the 10 largest deals since the financial crisis have been announced in the last 16 months, recent research by S&P Capital IQ has also showed.

Biggest of all has been Shell's £47bn acquisition of gas company BG Group is the biggest deal announced so far this year, and also the largest UK-to-UK deal of all time.

Read more: Shell-BG Group takeover expected to spark M&A fever in oil sector

The $80bn bid by Charter Communications for Time Warner Cable was the largest in the US this year.

Major mergers also include March's $45bn deal between Heinz, the canned goods specialist owned by Warren Buffett and Brazil's 3G Capital, and rival Kraft Foods.

M&A volumes are being influenced by factors such as super-low interest rates, the decline in oil prices, appreciation of the dollar and shareholder pressure on boardrooms to focus on top-line growth.

According to other recent research by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the M&A market is just getting warmed up. A survey by the firm found 54% of CEOs in the US plan to complete an acquisition in 2015 and, with M&A up 9% over deal value this time last year, PwC has predicted that the second half of 2015 could see even more merger activity in the back half of the year.