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Record year for acquisitions saw companies snapping up competitors at a great pace

Companies around the world spent a record amount on acquistions during 2015,

NEW YORK— Companies around the world spent a record $5.03 trillion (U.S.) on acquisitions in 2015, according to Dealogic.

Low interest rates since the Great Recession have made it cheaper for companies to borrow money to pay for acquisitions, and because the global economy only grew slowly this year, companies decided it made more sense to buy their competitors instead of trying to boost their sales on their own.

Dealogic says the value of global deals rose more than 30 per cent in 2014 and again in 2015. Here are the 10 largest acquisitions announced during the year:

Pfizer and Allergan Pfizer, the maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor, impotence treatment Viagra and fibromyalgia drug Lyrica, agreed to buy Allergan in November. The $148.57-billion deal would be the second-largest corporate merger ever. Pfizer would also become the world’s largest drugmaker in terms of sales.

AB InBev and SABMiller The biggest beer maker in the world wants to get even larger. The company behind Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois agreed to buy the maker of Miller Genuine Draft and Peroni for $105.56 billion in October. The move would expand AB InBev’s business in Africa, Asia and other key developing markets.

Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group When Royal Dutch Shell agreed to buy BG Group in April, oil prices had taken a steep fall from their 2014 highs. But they were going to get a lot worse. Oil and gas company Shell agreed to buy BG Group for $69.83 billion to expand its liquid natural gas business.

Dell and EMC In October PC maker Dell agreed to pay $65.97 billion for EMC, which makes data storage hardware and sells cloud storage and security products. Dell’s personal computer sales have been weak for years, but the company has been expanding its software and service businesses.

Dow Chemical and DuPont Dow Chemical agreed to buy competitor DuPont in a deal that will combine two chemicals companies founded in the 19th century. When the $62.38-billion deal closes, Dow DuPont will make products including Ziploc bags, Saran wrap and Nylon and Kevlar fibres. Dow DuPont will then break into three companies with more specific focuses.

Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable Charter Communications agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for $56.80 billion in May, and it will also spend about $10 billion to buy Bright House Networks. That will make Charter one of the largest providers of TV and Internet services in the U.S.

Heinz and Kraft Foods One of the largest food companies in the world was formed when H.J. Heinz bought Kraft Foods for $53.83 billion. The purchase, which was announced in March and closed in July, brought together brands including Oscar Meyer, Capri Sun, Maxwell House, Kool-Aid and Heinz ketchup.

Anthem buys Cigna Awave of health insurance combinations swept the market in July as Anthem announced it would buy Cigna for $51.93 billion just after Aetna said it would buy Humana for $35.04 billion. Anthem is the secondlargest U.S. insurance company in terms of enrolment; Cigna is fourth.

eBay spins off PayPal Online commerce giant eBay spun off its payments system unit PayPal for $49.16 billion in July. Investors value PayPal more highly than its former parent, as PayPal has a market capitalization of about $45 billion compared to eBay’s $33 billion.

Teva buying Allergan Generics Teva, an Israeli company that is already the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs, will get even bigger by buying the generic drugs business of Botox maker Allergan in a $40.5-billion deal.