Global M&A is making a comeback, according to new PitchBook data.

Why it matters: The long market downturn has affected everything from investments to acquisitions, and exacerbated the lack of liquidity.

The big picture: Deal activity for the year is currently tracking 10%-15% ahead of 2023 levels both in deal count and deal value.

By the numbers: In Q2, global M&A reached nearly $690 billion across 7,911 deals, though PitchBook estimates an additional 3,297 deals not yet disclosed. That's compared to $734.5 billion across 9,451 in the year-ago quarter.

• North America M&A deal value hit $378.8 billion across 3,233 deals in Q2, up from $500.3 billion across 3,480 deals in Q1. The second quarter of 2023 saw $387.8 billion across 3,952 deals.
• European M&A deal value hit $223.9 billion across 3,246 deals in the quarter, up from $200.7 billion across 3,641 deals in Q1. That's lower compared to $243.5 billion across 4,020 deals in Q2 of 2023.
• For both regions, the median enterprise value/EBITDA multiple for deals announced or closed in the first half of 2024 was unchanged at 9.5x, matching 2023.
• EV/revenue multiples also remained unchanged and identical to 2023 at a median of 1.6x for the first half of the year.

Between the lines: After nearly two years of more timid activity because of higher interest rates, PE-backed M&A appears to be rebounding, representing 41% of deal value in Q2, up from 33.5% in Q1.

The bottom line: M&A optimism is back en vogue.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) plans to sell certain Delaware Basin assets in Texas and New Mexico to Permian Resources (NYSE: PR) for about $818 million.

Why it's the BFD: This is part of Occidental's to-do list to fund its $12 billion takeover of CrownRock.

• Oxy previously said it plans to sell up to $6 billion in assets within 18 months of closing the deal, which Bloomberg reports should close next month.

Zoom in: Occidental also plans to divest about $152 million worth of assets, bringing the total year-to-date proceeds divestments (closed and announced) to $970 million.

The bottom line: "The deal with Permian Resources ... would consist of a total of 29,500 net acres in the Barilla Draw Field of the Permian Basin, the largest shale oil belt in the world, potentially boosting Permian Resources' output by estimated combined net production of 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the fourth quarter of 2024." — Reuters

• Altana, a N.Y. supply chain monitoring company, raised $200m in Series C funding at a $1b valuation led by US Innovative Technology Fund, with March Capital, Generation Investment Management, Salesforce Ventures, Friends and Family Capital, GV, Activate Capital, Floating Point, and OMERS Ventures also participating. altana.ai

• Osapiens, a German compliance and sustainability reporting company, raised $120m in Series B funding led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. osapiens.com

🚑 Confo Therapeutics, a Belgian clinical-stage company, raised €60m in Series B funding led by Ackermans & van Haaren, with Driehaus Capital Management, Quest for Growth, BioGeneration Ventures, Capricorn Health-tech Fund, Fund+, MINTS, Perceptive Advisors, Qbic, PMV, V-Bio Ventures, VIB and Wellington Partners. confotherapeutics.com

• Revi, an SF restaurant software maker, raised $14.5m in Series A funding led by Runa Capital, with Volition Capital and Precursor Ventures also participating. axios.link/4bZnXiR

• Rillet, a Palo Alto, Calif., accounting software startup, raised $5.5m in pre-seed funding led by First Round Capital, and $8m in seed funding led by Creandum. axios.link/4dckXkm

• Terrantic, a Seattle maker of software for food growing and processing, raised $3.5m in seed funding led by Supply Change Capital, with York IE, Vitalize Venture Capital, and Array Ventures also participating. axios.link/3StIkxJ

• Rent2Cash, an Italian rental advance startup, raised €3m in pre-seed funding from undisclosed investors. axios.link/3WrB4DI

• Axle Automation, an SF compliance software startup, raised $2.5m in funding led by Diagram Ventures, with Mistral Ventures, Uphonest Capital, StreamingFast and others also participating. axios.link/3WlPCF3

• Aquiline Capital Partners agreed to sell Quintes Holding, a Dutch insurance and pension broker, to Brown & Brown. quintes.nl

• AvaSure, backed by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity and The Heritage Group, acquired SF-based Ouva's smart room technology. axios.link/3A2IkhW

🚑 Olympus Partners sold Soliant, a Peachtree Corners, Ga., health care staffing and recruiting firm to Vistria Group. axios.link/46oCJi0

• Oxford International Education Group, backed by THI Investments, acquired Universal Higher Education and Universal English, Australian higher education institutions. oxfordinternational.com

• Sixth Street agreed to acquire Enstar (NASDAQ: ESGR), a Bermuda-based insurance company, for $5.1b, in a deal backed by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire J. Christopher Flowers. axios.link/3WpW91r

• Stanley Capital Partners acquired a majority investment in SePRO Corporation, a Carmel, Ind., environmental restoration company. Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquired a minority stake. sepro.com

• Stonepeak acquired a minority stake in The AA, a U.K. provider of roadside assistance. theaacorporate.com

• Thoma Bravo is seeking to sell about half of its Nasdaq shares for as much as $2.74b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3LHTkUn

🚙 Ola Electric Mobility, an Indian e-scooter maker, is seeking up to 61.46b rupees ($734m) in an IPO, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4dkeMea

🚙 WeRide, a Chinese autonomous driving startup, filed for an IPO on Nasdaq. axios.link/3SqJDgW

• Stripe acquired Lemon Squeezy, a Salt Lake City payments and compliance software provider. axios.link/3A1IGFD

• Kennet, a U.K. growth equity firm, raised €266m for its sixth flagship fund. kennet.com

• GoldenTree, a N.Y. asset manager, hired Sam Friedland as principal and head of real estate credit origination. He was previously a managing director at Related Fund Management. goldentree.com

• L Catterton, a Greenwich, Conn., consumer-focused investment firm, hired Devon Leahy as global head of sustainability. She was previously global head of sustainability at Ralph Lauren. lcatterton.com

Global private equity fundraising is on pace for a down year compared to 2023, according to data from S&P Global and Preqin.

By the numbers: That would put 2024 at a 20% decline from the $919.27 billion raised in 2023.

• Only 704 funds have closed in the first half of 204, compared to 2,590 in all of 2023.
• U.S. PE firms raised six of the top 10 largest funds this year so far.

Yes, but: There's an unprecedented $2.62 trillion in PE dry powder, likely impacting the decreased fundraising activity this year.