The start of the new decade could herald the beginning of a renewed period of growth for global M&A activity. According to the latest issue of the SS&C Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor report, the worldwide number of announced M&A deals in the first half of 2020 is forecast to grow by 5 percent year-over-year (YOY).

For M&A dealmakers that’s a welcome piece of news following two years in which worldwide deal announcements have flatlined.

The SS&C Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor is compiled by tracking early-stage M&A transactions, across the world, that are in preparation or have begun their due diligence stage. These early-stage deals are, on average, six months away from their public announcement.

Worldwide, the strongest growth in early-stage M&A activity is coming from deals in the Healthcare, Materials and Technology, Media and Telecoms sectors. Outside these, the Consumer & Retail sector in Asia-Pacific and the Financials sector in Europe, the Middle East & Africa are also leading new M&A deal starts.

For a detailed breakdown click here to download the report in full.