FORTUNE — Global merger and acquisition activity is finally on the rise, thanks to a pair of massive telecom deals.
The top transaction was Verizon Communications (VZ) agreeing to buy a 45% stake in Verizon Wireless from joint venture partner Vodafone PLC, in a deal valued at a whopping $130 billion. It’s the third-largest M&A deal of all time, and was followed by Microsoft (MSFT) announcing that it will acquire Nokia’s phone unit for nearly $7.2 billion (which is Microsoft’s second-largest purchase, behind Skype).
These deals mean that global M&A is now at nearly $1.55 billion so far in 2013, according to Thomson Reuters. That is a 1% bump over the same period in 2012. For context, global M&A during the first half of 2013 was down 8% from last year’s tally.
Global telecom M&A is now $231.6 billion, which is its highest YTD level since 2006:
Goldman Sachs (GS) continues to be the top financial advisor on M&A, having served as one of Vodafone’s advisors. Verizon advisors included Guggenheim Partners, Morgan Stanley (MS), and ex-Morgan Stanley banker Paul Taubman.
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