Mega takeovers drive record $2.8tn in dealmaking
Companies and investors turn to M&A as they adjust to economic shifts driven by the rise of AI
Dealmaking hit record levels in the first half of the year as companies shook off war and market volatility to strike more mega takeovers than ever before.
Mergers and acquisitions worth $2.8tn were agreed globally in the first six months of the year, a 49 per cent increase on the same period in 2025, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has helped fuel the rise in M&A by lowering antitrust guardrails, while companies and investors have turned to takeovers as they attempt to adjust to economic shifts driven by the rise of AI, according to dealmakers.
“We’re in a risk-on environment where people can get deals done,” said Ben Goodchild, a partner at Paul Weiss. “Boards are looking at all of their options, including once-in-a-cycle transactions.”
Top deals this year included Dominion Energy’s merger with NextEra Energy to create a $420bn US utilities giant, part of a wave of acquisitions driven by surging use of AI and the resulting data centre power demands.
The dash to win the AI race also drove SpaceX’s $60bn all-stock acquisition of the coding aid Cursor shortly after its milestone initial public offering, helping to make the technology sector the busiest for deals.
There have been a record 47 transactions worth more than $10bn this year, a 62 per cent increase over the same period last year, according to LSEG, whose data stretches back to 1980.
The $2.83tn of deals recorded in the first half of the year eclipsed the $2.74tn total from the first half of 2021, when dealmaking rebounded after a pandemic-driven slump.
The spree was capped on Monday by Martin Marietta Materials’ $13.5bn cash-and-stock combination with limestone supplier Lhoist North America and Rocket Lab’s $8bn swoop on satellite operator Iridium Communications.
Other notable deals included Fox Corporation’s $22bn agreement to buy streaming hardware maker Roku and a flurry of bolt-on biotech acquisitions as Big Pharma hunts for new drugs.
“There’s a bias to action in boardrooms,” said Charlie Bouckaert, global head of M&A at JPMorgan Chase. “Companies understand that standing still carries its own risks and the strategic imperative to act is increasingly outweighing the uncertainty.”
After technology, energy and power, and industrials were the busiest sectors for deals. Companies in less active sectors turned to M&A both to position themselves to benefit from AI build-out and as a defensive posture in a market in which investors are increasingly drawn to very large companies.
“AI broadly speaking — meaning the AI industry, or the industries where AI is creating opportunities or the industries being disrupted by AI — is driving a lot of the market,” said Sarkis Jebejian, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.
The surge in big deals meant the overall value of acquisitions agreed rose despite a 9 per cent decrease in the number of transactions, which fell to the lowest level since 2020. The number of smaller takeovers fell due to heightened risks linked to volatile energy prices and the threat of AI disrupting companies’ business models.
The surge in activity has driven a fees bonanza for investment banks, with Goldman Sachs set to be the biggest beneficiary having advised on more than $1tn worth of deals.
The US and Europe were the drivers of the surge, with the value of dealmaking up 77 per cent and 105 per cent respectively. Asia-Pacific deals were down about 2.4 per cent from the same period last year. Transaction volumes in Europe fell 14.2 per cent as the region faced an outsized impact from the Iran war.
“There’s a split between the level of activity in the US and outside the US. US confidence levels haven’t been hit whereas there has been a material impact on deal volumes in Europe,” said Nick Rumsby, co-leader of the Emea corporate practice at law firm Cleary Gottlieb.
Top deals in Europe included the $66bn merger of Unilever’s food division with US spice and sauce maker McCormick and the ongoing takeover battle in Italy to acquire the world’s oldest bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
The UK in particular has stood out for a surge of inbound acquisitions, as foreign buyers target London-listed companies to capitalise on a perceived valuation discount, with industrial groups viewed as particularly attractive.
“If you look at the UK market in particular, there’s still a feeling that lots of companies are undervalued compared to peers in the US,” said Rumsby.
M&A involving private equity-backed groups rose 54 per cent to $601bn, a positive sign for the industry as it seeks to offload trillions of dollars’ worth of assets.
“I do think this transactional window will be around for most of 2027,” said Steve Baronoff, chair of global M&A at Bank of America. “The boardroom sentiment right now is, are we overlooking anything? We’re going through a period now where people are saying this is the time to be bold.”