U.S. M&A at multi-year high, Factset reports

“U.S. M&A deal activity increased in March, climbing 5.1% with 998 announcements compared to 950 in February. Aggregate M&A spending increased as well. In March 65.2% more was spent on deals compared to February,” the data service Factset reported today in an email to subscribers.

Over the past three months, the sectors that have seen the biggest increases in M&A deal activity, relative to the same three month period one year ago, have been

1. Technology Services (524 vs. 409)

2. Finance (379 vs. 361)

3. Consumer Services (241 vs. 228)

4. Consumer Non-Durables (90 vs. 78)

5. Distribution Services (153 vs. 142).