The largest US acquisitions of 2026 so far are SpaceX's $250 billion all-stock combination with xAI, NextEra Energy's $66.8 billion all-stock merger with Dominion Energy and SpaceX's $60 billion stock deal for Cursor [1][2][3]. Among the big cash and mixed deals with disclosed financials, buyers paid a wide range of prices: from about 5.6 times EBITDA for Coterra Energy to almost 68 times EBITDA for Penumbra [1]. As of July 3, 2026, the pattern is clear: stock is the currency of the very largest deals, while cash buyers pay up mainly for growth.
Which are the largest US acquisitions of 2026 so far?
DataPorium's M&A records through April list more than two dozen mergers and acquisitions valued at $10 billion or more worldwide in the first four months of 2026, including a few that were later cancelled [1]. The US deals below combine those records with two large deals announced in May and June [2][3]. Values are transaction values as reported; multiples are enterprise value (EV) divided by the target's trailing EBITDA, as recorded by DataPorium.
| Deal (announced) | Value | Payment | EV/EBITDA | 1-day premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpaceX / xAI (Feb 2) | $250.0B | Stock | n/a | n/a (private) |
| NextEra Energy / Dominion Energy (May 18) | $66.8B | Stock | n/a | about 23% |
| SpaceX / Cursor (Jun 16) | $60.0B | Stock | n/a | n/a (private) |
| Investor group / AES (Mar 2) | $42.2B | Cash | 12.1x | negative 13.2% |
| Sysco / JRD Unico (Mar 30) | $29.1B | Cash and stock | 13.9x | n/a (private) |
| Devon Energy / Coterra Energy (Feb 2) | $25.3B | Stock | 5.6x | 13.1% |
| QXO / TopBuild (Apr 19) | $17.1B | Cash and stock | 16.9x | 23.1% |
| Boston Scientific / Penumbra (Jan 15) | $14.3B | Cash and stock | 67.8x | 18.4% |
| Sun Pharma / Organon (Apr 26) | $11.1B | Cash | 7.0x | 24.3% |
| Amazon / Globalstar (Apr 14) | $10.7B | Cash and stock | 99.0x | 12.8% |
Sources: DataPorium M&A records for deals through April [1]; company and press reports for NextEra and Cursor [2][3][4]. The NextEra premium is an estimate explained below.
How the biggest stock deals were priced
NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy
NextEra Energy (NEE) agreed on May 18 to combine with Dominion Energy (D) in an all-stock deal. Dominion holders will receive 0.8138 NextEra shares for each Dominion share, plus a one-time cash payment of $360 million in total at closing, and will own about 25.5% of the combined company [4]. Using DataPorium closing prices for May 15, the last trading day before the news, NextEra closed near $93.36 and Dominion near $61.73 [5]. The exchange ratio was therefore worth about $76 per Dominion share, an implied premium of roughly 23%. Dominion stock rose to about $67.56 on the day of the announcement, while NextEra fell to about $89.04 [5]. That gap shows the usual market reaction to a stock deal: the target moves up toward the offer and the buyer's shares absorb part of the cost.
SpaceX, xAI and Cursor
The two SpaceX (SPCX) deals are unusual because both targets were private. DataPorium records the xAI combination at $250 billion, paid in stock and completed on the day it was announced [1]. The Cursor agreement values Cursor at $60 billion, again in stock, with closing expected in the third quarter [3]. Cursor had roughly $2.6 billion of annualized revenue at the time, which puts the price near 23 times revenue [3]. Paying with shares lets a buyer with a high valuation fund a large purchase without new debt, but it dilutes existing owners and shifts part of the risk to the seller's investors.
What buyers paid in cash and mixed deals
The cash and mixed deals show how much buyers pay for growth compared with steady cash flow. The median EV/EBITDA across the seven US targets in the table with disclosed EBITDA multiples is 13.9 times [1]. Around that middle, the spread is wide:
- Mature cash producers sold for single-digit multiples. Coterra Energy went to Devon Energy (DVN) at 5.6 times EBITDA, and Organon went to Sun Pharma at 7.0 times [1].
- Infrastructure and distribution assets sat in the low to mid teens. The AES take-private was valued at 12.1 times EBITDA and 3.45 times sales, and the purchase of JRD Unico by Sysco (SYY) at 13.9 times EBITDA [1].
- Growth assets carried the highest prices. Boston Scientific (BSX) paid 67.8 times EBITDA and 10.2 times sales for Penumbra (PEN), and Amazon (AMZN) paid about 38 times sales for Globalstar (GSAT) [1].
Premiums to the prior day's close were moderate for public targets, mostly between about 13% and 24% [1]. The AES deal is an exception: its negative one-day premium reflects a share price that had already risen on reports of a sale before the deal was announced. A one-day premium can understate what a buyer paid when the news leaks early, which is why the 30-day premium is also useful. For Penumbra, the 30-day premium was about 29%, compared with 18.4% over one day [1].
Why so many large deals are paid in stock
Three of the four largest US deals this year used stock as the main payment [1][2][3]. Stock deals let two companies share both the upside and the risk of the combination, and they avoid adding debt at a time when borrowing costs remain meaningful. They can also be tax-free for the seller's shareholders, a point NextEra and Dominion highlighted [4]. The trade-off is that the final value to sellers is not fixed: it moves with the buyer's share price until the deal closes.
Across the whole market, LSEG data reported by Yahoo Finance show $2.8 trillion of announced deals worldwide in the first half of 2026, up 48% from a year earlier, with 47 deals above $10 billion worth more than $1.3 trillion combined [2]. Large, strategic, share-based transactions are a central part of that record. From a market perspective, a clear and predictable review process lets companies pursue scale when it lowers costs, while shareholder votes and regulators test whether the price is fair.
Readers can filter these and other transactions by date, stage and deal type in DataPorium's M&A and investment screener, and check buyer and target share prices on DataPorium's stock market pages.
The largest US acquisitions of 2026 were mostly paid in stock, while cash buyers paid high multiples only for clear growth.
Key takeaways
- SpaceX and xAI ($250 billion), NextEra and Dominion ($66.8 billion) and SpaceX and Cursor ($60 billion) lead the list of US deals in 2026 as of early July.
- The median EV/EBITDA across seven large US targets with disclosed multiples was about 13.9 times.
- Multiples ranged from 5.6 times for Coterra Energy to 67.8 times for Penumbra and about 99 times for Globalstar.
- One-day premiums for public targets were mostly between 13% and 24%, and NextEra's offer implied about 23% for Dominion.
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest acquisition announced in 2026?
SpaceX's combination with xAI, recorded at $250 billion and paid in stock, is the largest US deal announced in 2026 as of early July. Among deals between two public companies, NextEra Energy's $66.8 billion all-stock merger with Dominion Energy is the largest.
What is a typical EV/EBITDA multiple in a 2026 acquisition?
Among seven large US targets with disclosed data, the median was about 13.9 times EBITDA. Energy and mature pharma assets sold for 5 to 7 times, while fast-growing medical device and satellite businesses sold for far higher multiples.
What premium did Dominion Energy shareholders get from NextEra?
Based on May 15 closing prices, the 0.8138 exchange ratio was worth about $76 per Dominion share compared with a close near $61.73, an implied premium of roughly 23%. Because the deal is paid in stock, the value changes as NextEra's share price moves.
Why do companies pay for acquisitions with stock instead of cash?
Stock avoids new debt, can be tax-free for the seller's shareholders and lets both sides share the risk of the combined company. The cost is dilution for the buyer's existing shareholders.
Sources & References
- [1] DataPorium M&A and Investment Screener
- [2] Yahoo Finance: Mega-deals propel global M&A to record first half (LSEG data), July 3, 2026
- [3] Yahoo Finance: SpaceX announces $60 billion Cursor deal, June 16, 2026
- [4] NextEra Energy newsroom: NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy to Combine, May 18, 2026
- [5] DataPorium Stock Market Data (NEE and D daily prices)
