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Merger and acquisition (M&A) investments by major Korean businesses have plummeted by around 40 percent this year, industry data showed Wednesday.

According to the analysis data from corporate data research firm CEO Score, the combined M&A investment by the top 361 companies in the country this year totaled 8.58 trillion won ($5.97 billion) as of Dec. 13, down 39.3 percent from last year's 14.13 trillion won.

The number of completed M&A deals also fell to 50, sharply down from 87 deals in 2023 and to just one-third of the 150 deals recorded in 2022.

The acquisition of Asiana Airlines by industry leader Korean Air was the only deal in 2024 that exceeded 1 trillion won.

Hanwha Aerospace acquired Dyna-Mac, a Singapore-based firm specializing in floating offshore facilities, for 820.7 billion won.

Kakao, which had aggressively pursued M&A initiatives — 15 deals in 2022 and eight in 2023, completed only one deal this year by acquiring Teins Valley, a golf software system startup.

SK Group and Naver also refrained from notable M&A activities in 2024, according to CEO Score. (Yonhap)