List of largest mergers and acquisitions


The following tables list the largest mergers and acquisitions by decade of transaction. Transaction values are given in the US dollar value for the year of the merger, adjusted for inflation., the largest ever acquisition was the 1999 takeover of Mannesmann by Vodafone Airtouch plc at $183 billion. AT&T appears in these lists the most times with five entries, for a combined transaction value of $311.4 billion. Mergers and acquisitions are notated with the year the transaction was initiated, not necessarily completed. Mergers are shown as the market value of the combined entities.

Free market enterprises

1870s

Top 2 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1870 to 1879:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11874 Honeybrook Coal Company Wilkesbarre Coal and Iron Company0.01
21879 Pacific Coast Oil Company Star Oil0.001

1880s

Top 2 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1880 to 1889:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11884 New York Gas Light Company Manhattan Gas Light Company
Metropolitan Gas Light Company
Municipal Gas Light Company
Knickerbocker Gas Light Company
Harlem Gas Light Company
0.045
21883 Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Western Railroad Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railway
Olean and Salamanca Railroad
Oil City and Chicago Railroad Company
0.02085

1890s

Top 2 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1890 to 1899:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11899 American Spirits Manufacturing Company Kentucky Distilleries and Warehouse Company
Spirits Distributing Company
0.125
21899 Pullman Palace Car Company Wagner Palace Car Company0.074

1900s

Top 3 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1900 to 1909:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11901 Carnegie Steel Company Federal Steel Company
National Steel Company
0.492
21907 New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company Boston and Maine Corporation0.310
31909 Interborough Rapid Transit Company Metropolitan Street Railway0.222

1910s

Top 3 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1910 to 1919:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11915 Midvale Steel Company Remington Arms Company
Worth Brothers Company
0.100
21915 United Dry Goods Associated Merchants Company0.050
31918 General Motors United Motors Company0.045

1920s

Top 5 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1920 to 1929:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11928 Consolidated Gas Company of New York Brooklyn Edison Company1.0
21929 Niagara and Eastern Power Corporation MohawkHudson Power Corporation
Northeastern Power Corporation
0.665
31928 United Light and Power Company American Light and Traction0.522
41928 Hodenpyl & Hardy Stevens & Wood0.500
51928 Middle West Utilities National Electric Power
National Public Service
New England Public Service
Inland Power and Light
0.400

1930s

Top 5 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1930 to 1939:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11930 Pacific Gas and Electric Company Great Western Power Company
San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation
Midland Counties Public Service Corporation
0.650
21932 Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corporation Prairie Oil and Gas
Prairie Pipe Line Company
0.542
31934 Republic Steel Corrigan-McKinney Steel Corporation0.323
41931 Bethlehem Steel Pittsburgh Steel Company0.080
51932 Studebaker Corporation White Motor Company0.026

1940s

Top 5 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1940 to 1949:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11945 Consolidated Edison Brooklyn Edison Company
New York and Queens Light and Power Company
1.2
21948 Central New York Power Corporation New York Power and Light Corporation
Buffalo Niagara Electric Corporation
0.500
31945 Pittsburgh Coal Company Consolidation Coal Company0.160
41948 Long Island Lighting Company Queens Borough Gas and Electric Company
Nassau & Suffolk Lighting Company
0.140
51941 Celanese Corporation Celluoid Corporation0.096

1950s

Top 10 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1950 to 1959:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11959 General Telephone Sylvania Electric Products1.8
21957 Armco National Supply Company0.768
31957 American Can Company Marathon Corporation0.717
41955 Monsanto Lion Oil0.550
51956 Continental Can Company Robert Gair Company0.549
61954 Olin Industries Mathieson Chemical0.500
71955 Sunray Oil Corporation Mid-Continent Petroleum Corporation0.486
81955 Sperry Corporation Remington Rand0.466
91953 Gulf Oil Warren Petroleum Corporation0.420
101954 Hudson Motor Car Company Nash-Kelvinator0.355

1960s

Top 10 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1960 to 1969:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11969 Atlantic Richfield Sinclair Oil Corporation3.7
21965 Union Oil Pure Oil1.5
31968 Hunt-Wesson Canada Dry
McCall Corporation
1.0
41969 Xerox Corporation Scientific Data Systems0.925
51967 Rockwell-Standard North American Aviation0.922
61968 Sun Oil Sunray DX Oil Company0.763
71965 Continental Oil Company Consolidation Coal0.620
81961 American-Marietta Corporation Glenn L. Martin Company0.600
91968 Control Data Corporation Commercial Credit Company0.582
101967 Studebaker Corporation Worthington Corporation0.550

1970s

Top 15 M&A deals worldwide by value from 1970 to 1979:
RankYearPurchaserPurchasedTransaction value
Inflation adjusted
11979 Shell Oil Company Belridge Oil Company3.65
21976 General Electric Utah International2.17
31979 RCA CIT Financial1.3
41979 Exxon Reliance Electric1.2
51978 United Technologies Carrier Corporation1.0
61979 Mobil General Crude Oil0.765
71976 Atlantic Richfield Anaconda Copper0.760
81978 R. J. Reynolds Industries Del Monte Corporation0.620
91978 Johns Manville Olinkraft Inc0.585
101977 Kennecott Copper Carborundum Corporation0.567
111978 Philip Morris Seven-Up Bottling Co0.520
121978 Beatrice Foods Tropicana Products0.488
131977 Unilever National Starch and Chemical0.485
141974 Burmah Oil Signal Oil & Gas0.480
151979 American Brands Franklin Life Insurance0.465