(Reuters) - Mergers and acquisition deals announced so far this year have topped $3 trillion, the highest since 2007, helped by mega deals in the healthcare, energy and power sectors.
The total value of deals globally jumped about 48 percent to $3.06 trillion as of Nov. 20, compared with the same period last year, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (N:GS) retained its No. 1 position as M&A adviser with deals worth $877 billion, followed by JPMorgan Chase & Co (N:JPM) with $651 billion and Citigroup Inc (N:C) with $633 billion.
Morgan Stanley (N:MS) slipped to the fifth position from third last year.
The M&A market, which was the doldrums following the financial crisis, got a lift from a resurgent stock market and growing confidence among cash-rich companies.
The $66.4 billion bid for Allergan Inc (N:AGN) by Actavis PLC (N:ACT) this week more than doubled the total value of deals in the healthcare sector to $364 billion.
Halliburton Co's (N:HAL) plans to buy smaller rival Baker Hughes Inc (N:BHI) for about $38.5 billion raised the value of deals in the energy sector by 68 percent to $516.3 billion.
Other notable deals include Comcast Corp's (O:CMCSA) $45.2 billion bid for rival Time Warner Cable Inc (N:TWC).
The United States led the way with about $1.41 trillion worth of deals, up 58 percent compared with last year.
(Reporting by Avik Das in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)