Global merger and acquisition (M&A) deal value in the first three quarters of 2014 reached $2500bn, almost 12% higher than 2013’s total value, according to the third quarter M&A report by news and data provider Mergermarket. Every quarter of this year has seen higher values than in equivalent quarters since 2007, the publication revealed.

The US surpassed 2013 full-year results by 23.9% with a total deal value of $1100bn. European M&A reached $714.7bn and topped last year’s full-year value by 11.4%, with the continent also recording the largest number of deals worth more than $10bn in a quarter since before the financial crisis.

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The energy, mining, and utility sector was the most active sector, with deals in this sector increasing 35.6% year-over-year to $423.1bn in the quarter. The pharmaceutical, medical, and biotechnology sector was the most active sector during the first two quarters of 2014, with a large number of deals helping the total value reach more than twice that of the 2013 total, at $352.5bn.

Global average deal value was the highest on record at $406.4m, even exceeding pre-crisis figures. The three largest deals were made in the US with Comcast Corporation purchasing New York-based Time Warner Cable for $68.5bn, telecommunications giant AT&T acquiring DIRECTV for $65.6bn, and Texas-based energy firm Kinder Morgan taking over the 88.6% stake of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners that it did not already own for $58.8bn.

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