How the M&A market has learned to live with volatility and what this means for deal-making in Malta
The global M&A market has entered a new era. Following a prolonged slowdown between 2022 and 2024, deal volumes and values began recovering steadily from mid-2025, and that momentum has continued into 2026. What is striking is not the pace of recovery but the conditions under which it is happening: persistent geopolitical tension, shifting trade alliances, and a fundamentally changed economic order.
The outbreak of conflict in the Middle East at the end of February 2026 illustrated this reality vividly. Deal teams paused briefly, and then, within a fortnight, activity normalised. Markets absorbed the shock and moved on. It reflects a genuine recalibration: volatility is no longer the exception. It is the operating environment.
