How to spend $5 trillion: a re

Companies around the world spent a record $5.04 trillion on acquisitions in 2015, according to Dealogic, as slow worldwide economic growth and low interest rates pushed companies to combine forces.

Dealogic, a financial data provider, says the value of global deals soared 37 per cent in 2015. The highest price tag came in November, when Pfizer and Allergan announced the biggest pharmaceutical deal in history.

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.

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 secondlargest corporate merger ever. It would give Pfizer control of Botox and move the company’s headquarters to Ireland, cutting its taxes. Pfizer would also become the world’s largest drug maker 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. As part of the deal, SABMiller agreed to sell the Miller brand to Molson Coors.