M&A Activity Dips in May, While Shareholder Activism Trends Toward Settlements

May was mixed bag in the corporate deal book. While private equity activity increased, mergers and acquisitions dipped.

According to data from FactSet, U.S. M&A activity decreased by 6.3% in May. While 964 announcements were made in April, 903 were made in May. However, M&A spending increased significantly, jumping 100.1%.

M&A activity: Tech Leads the Way in Announcements, Finance in Amounts

Tech has seen the greatest amount of M&A activity in the past three months. Announcements jumped to 526 from 477 year-over-year.

The laundry list of tech M&A newsmakers is long. Avago Technologies revealed plans to acquire fellow chip maker Broadcom in a $37 billion deal in May, just a...