Mergers Hit Record $400 Billion

With a month still remaining in 1995, a record binge of dealmaking has produced mergers with a combined value of more than $400 billion, according to an analysis released Friday.

The 8,033 deals announced by the end of November were valued at a total of $404.2 billion, according to statistics compiled by Securities Data Co. That works out to an average of $1.2 billion in mergers and 24 deals announced daily, or a pace of $50 million an hour.

The total includes deals yet to be concluded, such as Wells Fargo & Co.’s nearly $11 billion bid for First Interstate Bancorp.

The previous record for a full year was $347 billion in 7,551 deals in all of last year, according to Securities Data, which tracks mergers and acquisitions, known in the industry as M&As.

“If history repeats, the year-ending month should see more deals come forward,” the study said. “Specifically, the final week of December has been witness to three of the four most active periods in M&A announcements.”

The most active week in terms of merger announcements was Dec. 21-27, 1986, with 340.