2021 was a boom year for global M&A: A record M&A rally saw agreements worth USD 5.8 tn signed throughout the year, growing 64% y-o-y and marking the fastest pace of growth for M&As since the mid-1990s, the Financial Times reports, citing Refinitiv data.

Underpinning the rally: Booming markets, widespread stimulus measures, and the growing popularity of SPACs. A total of 334 SPAC agreements were announced for companies valued at a combined USD 597 bn, equivalent to 10% of the total figure by value, according to the salmon-colored paper. SPACs began to slow down towards the end of 2021 after being “overdone,” and will likely account for a much smaller percentage moving forward, JPMorgan’s global co-head of M&A told the FT.

The two biggest M&As of the year: The USD 132 bn merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, which saw telecom operator AT&T spinning off WarnerMedia to create a USD 43 bn media giant with Discovery. Canadian Pacific Railway’s USD 31 bn acquisition of rival Kansas City Southern, which closed last month, led to the creation of the only single-line railway linking Canada, the United States and Mexico.

There were already signs of the boom earlier on in the year: In January, advisers signaled their expectations that the 2020 tech M&A boom would hold up in 2021, predicting enterprise technology companies with market values in the range of USD 20-100 bn to look at acquisitions. The forecast was fueled by surging M&A volumes in 2020, which hit a record USD 470 bn as surging tech stocks and central bank liquidity provoked a wave of market concentration. And by the end of 3Q2021, it was clear that the boom was materializing. Nearly USD 4 tn-worth of M&A agreements were reached by September, helped in part by a surge in agreements in August, which is typically a quiet month for M&A.

Egypt was no exception: M&A also had a strong year here at home, we noted in our year in review story. SPACs are widely expected to be a driver of further activity this year, after being recently introduced as a financial vehicle to the local market. At the moment, SWVL is attempting to speed up a SPAC agreement that could be completed in the coming weeks to beat Anghami in taking the title of the first firm to SPAC in MENA.

Could we see more of the same this year? Altogether, the expectation is that there will continue to be a flurry of M&A activity in 2022, despite anticipated interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve and rising company valuations potentially slowing down the pace. A Grant Thornton survey showed that more than two thirds of dealmakers and advisers expect M&A volumes to rise this year “despite challenges posed by regulations and the pandemic,” according to Reuters. Businesses are likely to bite the bullet on higher valuations “because they need to remain on the offense with the competition, they have access to record amounts of [liquidity], and they feel pressure from investors to raise their own valuations,” a separate KPMG survey of US business leaders signaled.