Free NewsletterGet the hottest Fintech Switzerland News once a month in your InboxFollowing two subdued years, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in financial services rebounded strongly in 2024, driven by significant deals in the insurance and alternative asset management verticals, new data released by Pitchbook show.In 2024, a total of 3,422 deals were announced or completed, worth an aggregate deal value of US$469.8 billion. The figures represent an 8.8% year-over-year (YoY) increase in deal count, and a remarkable 43% surge in total deal value.Financial services M&A activity, Source: Pitchbook, Jan 2025The insurance segment played a critical role in this rebound, producing multiple deals over US$1 billion. In Q4 2024, insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher and Co. acquired AssuredPartners for a staggering US$13.5 billion, marking the quarter’s largest deal in financial services. This acquisition aims to expand Gallagher’s retail middle-market property, casualty, and employee benefit focus across the US.Another significant transaction was Aviva’s US$4.6 billion acquisition of Direct Line Insurance Group. This deal seeks to create one of the UK’s largest home and motor insurers, aligning with Aviva’s larger effort to expand in its core markets of Britain, Canada and Ireland.Alternative asset management was another key segment in financial services, witnessing a surge in dealmaking as firms consolidated to expand their offerings and scale operations. One of the largest deals in the sector in 2024 was BlackRock’s acquisition of private credit manager HPS Investment Partners for US$12 billion. The deal, announced in December, aims to integrate HPS’ US$148 billion in assets under management (AUM) into BlackRock’s private credit division, creating a franchise with approximately US$220 billion in client assets.Another major deal in the sector is the acquisition of GCP International, the international business of GLP Capital Partners (excluding its operations in Greater China) by Ares Management for US$3.7 billion. The deal aims to create a real estate alternative asset manager with approximately US$96 billion in combined AUM, cementing Ares’ leadership in the alternative real estate space.Global M&A reboundsIn 2024, global M&A activity achieved robust growth, driven by more supportive macroeconomic conditions and stabilizing valuations. Deal value surpassed US$3.7 trillion across 45,191 transactions, representing a YoY increase of 19% in value and a 14% YoY growth in deal count.Global M&A activity, Source: Pitchbook, Jan 2025Europe fully recovered from the subdued levels seen in 2021 and 2022, which were marked by monetary tightening, with M&A deal value growing 29.2% YoY and deal count growing 17.5%. The region recorded nearly 20,000 deals, marking the highest level of estimated M&A deal count in a decade.European M&A activity, Source: Pitchbook, Jan 2025On a sector basis, the IT segment stood ou
Mar. Feb 11th, 2025
