Companies have announced a record $1.42 trillion (€1.12 trillion) of mergers and acquisitions for the year to date, exceeding the previous record of $1.41 trillion during the same period in 2000, as rising profits and a low cost of borrowing have stimulated sector consolidation.

Steel group Arcelor's €13bn ($16.6bn) bid for Russia's Severstal pushed this year's total above the previous high, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.