Global M&A Outlook 2026

Hanging out, 'situationships' and going official: it's complicated

Finding the right partner proved complex for some in 2025, but we're expecting a busy 2026

The global M&A market is nothing if not resilient. But its trajectory in 2025 was a complex affair. It was a tale of two halves – with a different story in different parts of the market, and for different types of buyers and sellers. We needed to find a new analogy this year – we have exhausted headwinds, tailwinds, foggy conditions and bumpy rides. All aircraft-related metaphors are now grounded, and we've instead gone with the complexity of the dating scene.

We faced a complicated picture with many buyers and sellers 'hanging out' with no serious near-term prospects of completing a deal, and others stuck in long-term 'situationships' – serious about moving forward but stuck in uncertain, messy dynamics. But with all this, we saw a happy number of buyers and sellers going official and declaring their