Worldwide mergers and acquisitions activity has exceeded $3tn for the fourth consecutive year, extending an unprecedented wave of dealmaking that bankers say is set to accelerate in 2018.

Although global M&A dipped slightly compared with 2016, the final month of 2017 was capped by three blockbuster transactions sparked by companies taking action against the threat of disruption from the likes of Amazon, Facebook and Netflix, which are using their size and scale to push into new sectors.

“We believe the momentum around large deal activity will continue into next year as we see a number of industries undergoing massive strategic shifts and further consolidation,” said Marc Nachmann, co-head of global investment banking at Goldman Sachs, which ranked as the top advisory firm by volume of deals this year.