Global dealmaking had a bumper start to the year despite geopolitical turmoil.

The 20% year-on-year increase in transaction values resulted in the largest first-quarter haul on record, Bloomberg reported, thanks largely to several mega mergers and acquisitions.

Post-pandemic dealmaking fell after wars broke out in Ukraine and Gaza — and remained bogged down by tariff-driven volatility last year — but has picked back up in recent months.

“The world is changing so fast and there’s so much disruption that not doing anything is not an option for a lot of companies,” a corporate lawyer said.

A Morgan Stanley executive posited that AI-driven disruption to companies’ business models is more likely to pause corporate decision-making than the Iran war.