Global M&A Soars Nearly 50% in 2025, Hitting $4.5 Trillion in Historic Surge

The deal-making engine just hit overdrive.

Forget cautious optimism—corporate boardrooms have gone all-in. Mergers and acquisitions worldwide exploded this year, rocketing to a level not seen in over four decades. The total value? A staggering $4.5 trillion. That's a near 50% leap from the prior year, cementing 2025 as the second-highest frenzy period on record.

The Fuel Behind the Fire

What's driving the stampede? It's a classic mix of fear and opportunity. Companies are scrambling to consolidate power, acquire new tech stacks overnight, and outmaneuver competitors before the next economic shift. Cash reserves are being weaponized, and debt is just another tool in the toolbox.

A Market Playing for Keeps

This isn't just growth; it's strategic conquest. Sectors are being reshaped in real-time as giants swallow innovators and rivals merge to form titans. The scale is monumental, suggesting a fundamental belief that bigger is safer—and more profitable—in today's volatile landscape.

One cynical take? It's the ultimate vote of no confidence in organic growth. When you can't build it fast enough, you just buy the company next door. The historic surge to $4.5 trillion shows that for many, the checkbook is the most powerful R&D department they have.

Netflix, Union Pacific lead record megadeals across sectors

The year’s two biggest M&A deals came out of entertainment and transport. Netflix and Paramount are both fighting to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, while Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are joining up to create a $250 billion railroad empire.

These giant tie-ups mirror 2021’s headline deals, like WarnerMedia merging with Discovery and Canadian Pacific’s $31 billion purchase of Kansas City Southern.

Regulatory changes helped fuel the new wave of consolidation. Trump’s second term in the WHITE House delivered weaker enforcement, and that opened the door for companies to get bolder.

“What we see with corporate clients is a willingness to take on regulatory risk for transactions that are strategic,” said Andrew Nussbaum, co-chair of the executive committee at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. “They see a willingness of the regulators to engage in constructive dialogue.”

That momentum hit a wall in early April when Trump slapped sweeping new tariffs, dubbed ‘liberation day’, across multiple trade fronts. But it didn’t take long for dealmaking to get back on track. The second half of 2025 ended with two straight quarters of over $1 trillion in M&A, a feat not seen since 2019. “Our momentum built post the recovery from liberation day and has just continued to build since then,” said Daniel Mendelow, U.S. investment banking co-head at Evercore. “There’s a lot of pent-up interest in M&A.”

Smaller transactions didn’t see the same surge. The overall number of deals actually dropped by 7%, hitting the lowest level since 2016. While the dollar volume climbed, fewer deals were getting done overall.

Private equity dealmaking rises slower with fewer exits

Private equity trailed behind public company activity. The sector saw just a 25% rise, hitting $889 billion in total deals. Companies struggled to sell assets, but a few high-profile buyouts kept the lights on. The biggest was the $55 billion takeover of Electronic Arts, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with help from Silver Lake and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

“The general narrative is that sponsors are not active, but there were some large take-private transactions,” said Anu Aiyengar, global head of advisory and M&A at JPMorgan Chase. She added that even with markets hitting all-time highs, there were still mispriced assets being snapped up, thanks to financing coming in from all sides.

There were signs of life in the IPO market, too. Companies like Medline and Verisure went public, giving private equity shops another path for exit.

“Over the next couple of years there’s room for more activity, and we certainly feel the sponsor wave in particular is only just gaining momentum,” said Andre Kelleners, co-head of European investment banking at Goldman Sachs.

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