In the span of less than 48 hours, more than US$100 billion in merger and acquisition activity has been announced, providing a lift to U.S. stocks.

The flurry of deals began on Saturday, after U.S. telecommunications giant AT&T (T.N) announced it has agreed to buy Time Warner (TWX.N) for US$85.4 billion.  If approved by regulators, the AT&T-Time Warner deal would be the biggest in the world this year.

Aircraft component maker Rockwell Collins (COL.N) followed shortly thereafter, saying it would purchase B/E Aerospace in a deal valued at US$6.4 billion, plus the assumption of US$1.9 billion in debt. 

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and TD Ameritrade (AMTD.O) said on Monday the companies are buying Scottrade Financial Services in a deal valued at US$4 billion that will combine two of the biggest U.S. discount brokerages.

Meanwhile, Chinese aviation and shipping conglomerate HNA Group said on Monday it will acquire a 25-per-cent stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings from the hotel operator’s biggest shareholder Blackstone Group for US$6.5 billion. Beijing-based China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. also announced it has agreed to buy U.S. insurance firm Genworth Financial for about US$2.7 billion.

The deals helped U.S. markets hit their highest level in two weeks on Monday morning.

What’s driving the frenzy of deals is uncertainty associated with ultra-low interest rates – and that may fuel even more M&A activity in the coming months, according to Lyle Stein, senior portfolio manager with Vestcap Investment Management.

Business executives are finding it difficult to spur growth, while “it’s pretty hard to cut your own costs because that’s pretty much what you’ve been doing for the last 20 years,” Stein said in an interview with BNN.

As such, executives are finding synergies and seeking out cost-savings through mergers, Stein said.

“I think we’re going to continue to see heightened M&A activity simply because it is a way to take advantage of these low interest rates,” he said.

The mergers and acquisitions are happening despite political uncertainty “on all four corners of the globe,” including the upcoming U.S. presidential election, said Keith Bliss, senior vice-president of Cuttone & Co., in an interview with BNN.

“Business does go on. The execs in their boardrooms have decided that they need to grow by coming together, as opposed to battling it out on the playing field,” Bliss said.

“It makes more sense to invest in an acquisition or a merger strategy than it does to grow your business organically because of all the cheap money that’s floating around.”

With files from Reuters