Global M&A Trends and Risks Report unveiled by Mergermarket's website
Global M&A Trends and Risks Report 2025: Resilient Dealmaking Amidst Challenges
The Global M&A Trends and Risks Report 2025, a joint publication by our website and Mergermarket, offers valuable insights into the current and future landscape of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The comprehensive survey gathered responses from executives of multinational corporations, large private equity firms, and major investment banks.
Trade Tensions and Renewed Confidence
US tariff announcements in early 2025 caused significant uncertainty and volatility, particularly in tariff-sensitive industries. This led to dealmakers pausing or postponing transactions globally, weighing on M&A activity during much of the second quarter. However, optimism has increased about potential resolution of US tariffs, which is supporting renewed confidence and dealmaking.
Deal Insurance and Risk Mitigation
The popularity of deal insurance is set to soar, reflecting growing awareness of risk management in M&A transactions amid geopolitical and economic volatility. This trend is emerging strongly as parties seek protection against deal-related uncertainties.
AI Integration and Strategic Growth
While not extensively detailed in the aggregated sources, the broader M&A market shows increasing strategic growth focus, which includes leveraging technological advancements such as AI. Companies are reevaluating portfolios with a mindset inclined toward innovation, potentially implying greater AI integration in target assets.
Busiest Sectors and Favorable Financing
The busiest sectors include business services, technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT), with significant deal value also in financial services, pharmaceuticals, and energy. In Ireland, deal volumes rose despite value declines, reflecting fewer transformational deals but sustained interest in diverse sectors. Favorable financing conditions persist, enabled by falling interest rates in key regions as governments stimulate local economies, supporting M&A volumes and activity despite macroeconomic challenges.
Private Equity Activity
Private equity firms remain active and resilient, continuing to pursue deals with creativity and conviction even amid uncertainty. M&A volumes and values reflect healthy participation from private equity players adapting to the shifting landscape.
Expected Trends for 2025
53 percent of respondents expected their organization's appetite for M&A to increase in 2025 compared to last year, but market turmoil caused by reciprocal tariff announcements decreased their appetite. Raj Karia, Global Head of Corporate, M&A and Securities, stated that the report captures a shift towards more deliberate and strategic planning in M&A.
65 percent of respondents expect the use of representations and warranties insurance (RWI) to increase in 2025 compared to 2024. Domestic private equity buyers are expected to be among the most active types of acquirers in deal markets in 2025, while domestic strategic buyers are expected to be the most active acquirers, particularly in emerging markets like Latin America, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.
35 percent of respondents expect it to become more difficult to secure M&A-related financing in 2025 compared with 2024, and private credit is expected to be the single most important form of financing for M&A deals in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Contact Information
For further information, Louise Nelson, Head of PR for Europe, Middle East, and Asia, can be contacted at Tel: 44 20 7444 5086 or Cell: 44 79 0968 4893. Dan McKenna, US Director and Global Head of PR and Communications, can be contacted at Tel: 1 713 651 3576.
Our global corporate, M&A and securities team provides legal advice on public transactions, take-privates, strategic review processes, joint ventures, carveout dispositions and acquisitions, debt and equity capital markets transactions, governance, compliance, general commercial and corporate advisory matters. With over 450 M&A partners and 700 other deal lawyers worldwide, we advise on high-profile, complex and significant transactions in the market.
The Global M&A trends and risks report (third edition) has been released by our website.
- In the face of geopolitical and economic volatility, deal insurance is becoming increasingly popular as parties seek protection against uncertainties in business transactions, reflecting a growing awareness of risk management in M&A.
- The busiest sectors for M&A transactions in 2025, as indicated by the report, are business services, technology, and financial services, with significant deal value also in sectors like media, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and energy.
