Worldwide M&A Activity Tops $1 Trillion So Far This Year

The value of worldwide mergers and acquisitions announced so far this year has topped $1 trillion, only the third time deal values have surpassed this mark since records began in 1980, weekly Thomson Reuters data showed on Friday.

Deal volumes shot up following a flurry in the healthcare sector, including Zimmer Holdings' $13.35 billion acquisition of rival orthopaedic products maker Biomet and the agreement between Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline to trade more than $20 billion worth of assets.

U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs, an adviser to Biomet and Novartis, climbed to the top of the M&A league table after having worked on deals worth $72 billion this week.