By Ben Dummett and Lauren Thomas

Large corporate deals had their best quarterly showing ever, as companies forged ahead with tie-ups and investments despite the Iran war rattling markets.

So far in 2026, 22 transactions valued at $10 billion or more have been announced globally -- a record quarterly number, according to LSEG data. The next-closest quarter was the fourth quarter of 2015, when 21 such deals were announced.

This week alone, Unilever unveiled a more than $65 billion deal, including debt, to combine its food business with spice maker McCormick, and Sysco agreed to buy family-owned Jetro Restaurant Depot for over $29 billion, including debt.

"Uncertainty due to oil, growth and rates isn't going away. But major deals are still getting done," said Ben Goodchild, a partner in the M&A group at law firm Paul Weiss. "The M&A market is focused on the long-term fundamentals: right deal, right price and right strategic rationale."

The total value of all deals announced globally jumped roughly 29% in the first quarter from a year ago, but the number of deals is down more than 17% as smaller-deal activity slowed.

The megadeal tally includes a handful of big equity investments in artificial-intelligence companies such as Amazon.com's $50 billion investment as part of OpenAI's $110 billion fundraise announced in February.

A number of other big transactions are in the works. Estée Lauder has been in discussions to acquire Spanish beauty group Puig Brands, a deal that would combine two of the world's biggest beauty companies. Absolut vodka maker Pernod Ricard and Jack Daniel's maker Brown Forman are holding talks. Billionaire Tilman Fertitta has been in talks to buy casino giant Caesars Entertainment.

Many companies see a moment to pounce on bigger deals that would normally face prolonged antitrust scrutiny. The Justice Department's top antitrust official, Gail Slater, departed in February after clashing with Trump allies who at times favored more lenient oversight of big deals.

This all comes as U.S. stocks are set to deliver their worst quarter in nearly four years, led by a more than 7% drop in the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index. That makes it harder for buyers and sellers to agree on prices. The Iran war has sent crude prices to above $100 a barrel, which could keep interest rates higher for longer to combat rising prices and make funding deals more expensive.

Uncertainty has forced many deal processes to move at a slower pace in recent weeks, advisers say. Dealmaking in the oil-and-gas sector, in particular, has faced challenges as oil prices gyrate.

Smaller deals valued at between $1 billion and $5 billion in the U.S. have been among the hardest hit, with activity measured by deal count and total value both lower than the year-ago period.

Bankers and lawyers say because smaller deals are less of a must-have, buyers are more willing to put them on hold.

Also, private-equity firms are sitting on record numbers of portfolio companies they need to eventually sell or take public, including many software firms threatened by the rise of AI. But many are hesitant to strike deals at today's depressed prices.

While dealmaking activity in the software industry has stalled, there has been plenty in other sectors including financial services and healthcare. On Tuesday, Eli Lilly said it struck a deal worth up to $7.8 billion for the clinical-stage biotech Centessa Pharmaceuticals, and Biogen announced a $5.6 billion deal for Apellis Pharmaceuticals.

Dealmakers had high hopes going into 2026 and believe even small deals could bounce back later in the year.

"If we get a bit of stability in the markets and the economy, the floodgates could open to a phenomenal M&A year where companies are doing $100 million deals and $2 billion deals, all the while the $50- and $100-billion deals continue," said Frank Aquila, Sullivan & Cromwell's senior M&A partner.

Write to Ben Dummett at ben.dummett@wsj.com and Lauren Thomas at lauren.thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 31, 2026 20:00 ET (00:00 GMT)

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