There was a pause in merger-and-acquisition activity from Minnesota companies in 2020, but it was short and by the end of the year activity had rebounded.

Already in 2021, there are approximately $20 billion worth of deals involving Minnesota public companies.

The number of Minnesota-targeted deals was down in 2020, but the value of those transactions increased, according to data from Dealogic, a firm that tracks M&A activity.

"Dealmakers have learned to execute deals in this environment, and overall activity is trending upwards, which bodes well for M&A in 2021," wrote Philip Segal, an analyst with Mergermarket, in an annual review of deal activity.

Companies that have benefited from the pandemic are flush with cash, and the stock market rebound has meant public-company shares are even more valuable.

Here is a look at some of the bigger deals:

UnitedHealth Group

Mega deals, defined by Mergermarket as deals greater than $10 billion, helped the deal market recover in the back half of 2020. Minnesota had one such mega deal in the last 17 months: Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth's $13 billion deal ($8 billion in cash and $5 million in assumed debt) announced in January for Nashville-based health care IT firm Change Healthcare. It was the second largest deal announced by UnitedHealth and faces some close regulatory review before it can be completed.

Hormel

The Austin, Minn.-based company announced its biggest ever deal in February, paying $3.35 billion to Kraft Heinz Co. for the Planters nut business. The deal also includes Planters Cheez Balls and Corn Nuts brands. The deal adds a portfolio of products that does about $1 billion in revenue each year and will complement Hormel's other nonmeat brands Justin's, Skippy, Herdez and Wholly.

General Mills

Earlier this month, the Golden Valley-based food giant announced it would use cash on hand to buy Tyson Foods' pet-treats business for $1.2 billion. The unit should pair nicely with the Blue Buffalo Pet Products business in acquired in 2018 for about $8 billion.

Deluxe

As it focuses on building its electronic-payments platform, the Shoreview-based company announced a $960 million deal in April to acquire First American Payment Systems.

MTS Systems

Eden Prairie-based MTS Systems was acquired by Connecticut-based Amphenol Corp., which wants to expand its sensor-testing technology. The $1.6 billion deal was announced in December and closed in April. As part of the overall deal, Amphenol said it would sell MTS' Systems Test and Simulation business to Illinois Tool Works for $750 million; that part of the deal is still pending.