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Global M&A and private equity broke all-time records in the first quarter of 2021, according to new data from Refinitiv.

Why it matters: If my morning deal-making newsletters have seemed unusually long, it hasn't been your imagination.

By the numbers:

  • Global announced M&A hit $1.3 trillion, the largest Q1 figure ever and the second-largest quarter ever. It's also a 94% jump from Q1 2020 and the number of deals increased by 9%. Overall, global M&A has experienced three straight quarters of $1 trillion+ activity.
  • U.S. M&A also hit an all-time Q1 high, with U.S. dealmaking accounting for 50% of the worldwide total. Asia-Pacific (ex-Japan) was up 48% year-over-year and Europe rose by 23%.
  • Cross-border M&A hit an all-time Q1 high of $458 billion.
  • Private equity-backed deals hit $249 billion, or 19% of the global total. That represents a doubling of value when compared to Q1 2020, while the number of deals was up 57%.

But, but, but... There are some signs of slowdown. Several IPOs either postponed or priced low in the last week, plus the Deliveroo aftermarket debacle. And the number of new SPAC formations has shrunk dramatically, suggesting that investors may believe their blank checkbooks runneth over.

  • On the other hand, this could just be bankers trying to get through stacks of old work before taking on new mandates, or folks planning Easter week holidays. I'm not brash enough to call a market top.

The largest global deal in Q1 was General Electric's planned $31 billion merger of its aircraft-leasing business with AerCap Holdings.

The investment banking league tables continued to be led by Goldman Sachs, but JPMorgan jumped Morgan Stanley for second place. Citi and BofA rounded out the top five.

Q1 2021 epitaph: Up and to the right.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.