Our June report called out 122 completed deals that cost over $176 billion in total. The $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer as well as the $85 billion merger of AT&T and Time Warner made up 84% of that amount. This year, the value of global merger and acquisition deals have actually reached an all-time high of $2.51 trillion, which is a 64% increase over the same period last year (although the number of individual deals has decreased). The last time the numbers were this high was right before the recession in 2008.

Going forward, MediaRadar’s advertising mergers and acquisitions posts will be weekly. Let’s take a look at the completed acquisitions and mergers from the month of July.

Completed Deals

These deals have gone through all necessary steps and have been completed.

• WordStream, Inc. Acquired by Gannet Co., Inc.

Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) has completed its acquisition of WordStream, a digital marketing firm that helps businesses improve their paid search and social campaigns, for $130 million. Gannett hopes that the addition of WordStream will help bolster its own digital marketing capabilities.

(More details on Business Wire)

• Fidelis Care Acquired by Centene Corporation

Centene Corporation has completed its acquisition of Fidelis Care, a New York-based health insurance company, for $3.75 billion. The addition of Fidelis Care will give Centene a strong presence in the managed care market in New York state.

(More details on St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

• Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. Merged with Keurig Green Mountain, Inc.

Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group have successfully merged in a deal worth $18.7 billion. The new company, Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE: KDP), is now the seventh-largest food and beverage company in the nation. The combination of the two powerhouse companies shores up the scale, portfolio, and selling and distribution capabilities of their respective iconic brands, which include soda brands like Dr Pepper, 7UP, and Sunkist as well as coffee brands like Green Mountain Coffee and Keurig, among many others.

• FanDuel Group Acquired by Paddy Power Betfair

Paddy Power Betfair (OTCMKTS: PDYPY) has acquired the daily fantasy sports giant, FanDuel. The combined company is the largest online sports destination in the United States. FanDuel, now operating as FanDuel Group, will be made up of several brands, including FanDuel, TVG Network, Betfair Casino, and DRAFT. The new enterprise will have a presence in 45 US states and reach approximately 8 million customers.

• First Aid Beauty Acquired by the Procter & Gamble Company

American multinational corporation, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), has acquired prestige skin-care brand, First Aid Beauty, for approximately $250 million. First Aid Beauty joins P&G’s growing list of beauty acquisitions, which includes Olay, SKII, Aussie, and Herbal Essences. Joining P&G will allow First Aid Beauty to further cultivate their global presence and advance their in-house product development capacities. At the same time, it represents P&G’s effort to regain market dominance in the beauty and skincare industry that they lost when they divested 43 of their beauty brands to Coty, Inc. (NYSE: COTY) in 2016.

• Centaur Holdings Acquired by Caesar Entertainment Corporation

Gaming conglomerate, Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR), has acquired privately held casino operator, Centaur Holdings, LLC, for $1.7 billion in cash. Caesar’s footprint will expand across the central Indiana region with gaming operations like Hoosier Park Racing & Casino and Indiana Grand Racing & Casino joining its portfolio in the acquisition.

• Taco Del Mar Acquired by High Bluff Capital Partners

Private-investment firm, High Bluff Capital Partners, has acquired the fast and casual Mexican restaurant chain, Taco Del Mar. The acquisition comes less than a month after High Bluff Capital acquired Quiznos. The investment firm believes that Taco Del Mar’s “well-established heritage in the Pacific Northwest” is “an excellent foundation to build upon” with the injection of capital, scale of operations, and management expertise that they can deliver.

• Quartz Media LLC Acquired by Uzabase, Inc.

U.S.-based business news website, Quartz, has been acquired by Japanese financial publishing company, Uzabase, Inc. (TYO: 3966). The acquisition cost between $75 million and $110 million; the final valuation will depend on Quartz’s performance for the full year. As part of the deal, Quartz will assume control of the English version of business news platform, NewsPicks, which launched in the United States as a joint venture with Dow Jones & Co. in mid-2017. For Uzabase, Inc., the current acquisition represents a calculated effort to expand into the US and Europe by leveraging Quartz’s monthly readership of approximately 20 million people.

(More details on Japan Times and Variety)