CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Economic Fascism and the “Megadeal”

Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

Recent data on corporate mergers and acquisitions reveal a trend of fewer and fewer individual deals of larger and larger values, with “megadeals” (that is, deals valued over $5 billion) coming to dominate the world of industry consolidation. A June report from PwC notes:

M&A has joined this supersize party. This year, we’ve seen the largest ever deals in sectors from utilities to streaming to real estate investment trusts. Global deal value is on track to hit $4tn in 2026, up by about 13% year-on-year, even though deal volumes are declining. M&A transactions above $5bn have made up almost half of total global deal value so far this year. That’s double their share just two years ago. Strip out these megadeals, and deal value is down by 4%.

M&A has joined this supersize party. This year, we’ve seen the largest ever deals in sectors from utilities to streaming to real estate investment trusts. Global deal value is on track to hit $4tn in 2026, up by about 13% year-on-year, even though deal volumes are declining. M&A transactions above $5bn have made up almost half of total global deal value so far this year. That’s double their share just two years ago. Strip out these megadeals, and deal value is down by 4%.

If the rest of the year continues as it has, “[d]eal values from megadeals are on track to increase year-on-year by 40%,” even as deal volume is projected to be 13% lower than it was last year. The report goes on, “Megadeals are the dominant force. Transactions above $5bn now account for 48% of global deal value, compared with 39% in 2025 and 26% in 2024. Strip out those largest deals, and the market looks more subdued, with deal value down by 4% year-on-year.” These megadeals are disproportionately concentrated in the United States, which will surprise few market observers.

A system with a small number of massive corporate conglomerates under which 99.9% of us have no substantive power whatsoever can never be one consistent with liberal democracy, the rule of law, or economic freedom. Those who focus their attention myopically on the current regime and the corruption thereof show that they understand neither the nature nor the scale of the social problem, and for this reason they can be of only little help in the struggles to come. Indeed, many are no less custodians of the political and economic status quo, and eagerly defend this system of corporate domination and economic fascism.

The formal shape of or label on the structure of ownership and power tells us nothing on its own, our ideological delusions notwithstanding. The formal juridical designations and labels do not reveal who makes decisions, at what scales and for how many others, the processes and information used, or the means at their disposal to impose their will. Arbitrary, authoritarian organizations have come to us under many names, the names of capitalism and socialism and others. Hierarchy and domination are much older and more durable than any of our modern-day ideological........

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