According to PwC, corporates continued to use their strong cash positions and stock prices as currency to make acquisitions. Through the first five months of 2011, corporate buyers accounted for 82% of deal volume, and 84% of total deal value.

Some 73 deals of more than $1 billion were announced this year, totaling $331 billion, or 73% of deal value, compared to 60 deals worth $225 billion in the same 2010 period.

"Corporate buyers emerged from the downturn as the dominant force in the deal market having stock piled cash from restructuring and cutting costs during a period when growth opportunities were limited," Curragh said. "At the same time, competition for quality assets is helping push up valuations and average deal value. In this type of 'sellers' market,' where assets are being strongly pursued, buyers are competing aggressively and are focused on identifying value drivers to optimize pricing. With sellers taking more control, they are in the driver's seat and are demanding a swift diligence process with more certainty around the outcome."

Corporate buyers have been key players in larger deals as they look to execute on scalable transactions that directly contribute to their bottom lines.