The 2025 Global M&A Dealmakers Sentiment Report has recently been published, prepared by SS&C Intralinks and Reuters Events. The report is the result of surveys conducted among players in the M&A market (from private equity firms, companies, advisors, and investment bankers).
In this edition, it is reported optimistically that M&A matters seem to have a promising future for this year 2025. Bankers on Wall Street have reported growth in their activity and fees received, indicating that the number of deals for this year will increase compared to what we saw during 2024.
This is cautious optimism given that inflationary pressures and interest rates remain high, while the political and regulatory instability of the past year continues. However, President Trump’s electoral victory in the United States has generated enthusiasm and hope for a regulatory environment conducive to new deals, particularly in the North American region.
A consistent trend continues to be the evolving key role that technology will play in operations – from artificial intelligence tools to cybersecurity issues. Financial institutions are transforming the way they operate to take full advantage of the tools offered by new technologies.
The report highlights an optimistic sentiment for this 2025. Last year, only half of the respondents expected an increase in activity during 2024, while almost ninety percent of respondents expect more activity in terms of mergers and acquisitions and financing of deals for this 2025.
Private equity firms seem to express the most optimism about market projections. It is expected that not only will the number of deals increase but also the value of projects, compared to what happened last year.
In this regard, almost half of the respondents in private equity firms expect to participate in transformative deals (with a transaction value exceeding $10 billion). The sentiment of global economic recovery seems to indicate that respondents are moving away from M&A deals related to distressed assets, perceiving significantly fewer existing opportunities in restructuring-related deals.
Financial services and the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sectors remain areas of particular interest based on results and long-term performance projections, particularly in projects exposed to artificial intelligence issues. Technology undoubtedly serves as a crucial facilitator in the implementation and closing of deals – even though it is an evolving and somewhat recent technology – becoming a competitive advantage for those players who know how to implement it early, compared to those who lag behind and find themselves forced to learn in the process.
More than half of the respondents in the report expect the use of artificial intelligence tools to increase significantly during this year 2025. In this sense, most firms seem to be hiring specialized third-party tools rather than developing their own tools internally. Concerns regarding cybersecurity in the M&A market remain, highlighting the importance of using virtual data rooms (VDRs) efficiently and securely, enhancing information protection during each project.
