M&A activity rose sharply in 2025, at $4.6 trillion in deals for the year, a 45.3% increase over 2024 and a high-water mark since the boom year of 2021. Momentum built over the course of the year, particularly for bigger transactions, with $1.3 trillion in deals valued over $5 billion announced in the second half of 2025, the highest of any two consecutive quarters since 2015.
This resurgence is all the more notable in view of mixed geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions in 2025. While rapidly changing trade and investment policy may have deterred some dealmaking, particularly in the first half of the year, quick market acclimatization to the shifting global trade paradigm, coupled with strong global equity markets, the continuation of a monetary easing cycle and a generally more tractable antitrust environment in the U.S., produced what was ultimately a robust and resilient year for M&A.
Against this backdrop, cross-border M&A continued to provide opportunities for dealmakers in 2025. Cross-border deals accounted for 30% ($1.4 trillion) of global M&A in 2025, down somewhat from an average of 34% over the prior ten years. Acquisitions of U.S. companies by non-U.S. acquirors accounted for $342 billion in transaction volume and represented 7.4% of 2025 global M&A volume and almost 25% of cross-border M&A volume. Japanese, Canadian, Swiss, French and British acquirors (in that order) represented 56% of the volume of cross-border acquisitions of U.S. targets, while acquirors from emerging economies accounted for 29%, a significant increase over the prior year driven by the participation of sovereign wealth funds in headline transactions. Conversely, outbound acquisitions by U.S. companies of non-U.S. targets totalled $282 billion, representing 6.1% of global M&A volume and nearly 21% of cross-border M&A volume.
While only time will tell the impact of current political and market conditions on M&A and more broadly, we expect cross-border transactions into the U.S. to continue to offer compelling opportunities in 2026. As always, careful preparation for the political, regulatory, cultural and technical complexity inherent in cross-border deals is critically important for parties considering a cross-border transaction. Advance preparation, strategic implementation and deal structures calibrated to the current environment and the particular circumstances of each deal will yield superior results.
The following is our updated checklist of matters that should be carefully considered in advance of an acquisition or strategic investment in the U.S. Because each cross-border deal is unique, the relative significance of the issues discussed below will depend upon the specific facts, circumstances and dynamics of each particular situation. There is no one-size-fits-all roadmap to success. These topics, and many other matters relating to cross-border investment and acquisition activity touched on in this memo, are covered in greater depth in our Cross-Border M&A Guide.
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