In a landscape marked by economic uncertainty and shifting investor sentiment, the global deal activity (mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity and venture financing) for the first the first six months (H1) of 2025 presents a nuanced picture. The total number of deals announced globally year-on-year (YoY) decreased by approximately 1.7% during H1 2025, with some markets showcasing resilience and some even registering double-digit growth in deal volume, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Global deal landscape was a mixed bag of caution alongside resilience in H1 2025. While the overall deal volume has experienced a slight decline compared to the previous year, certain regions and countries have demonstrated resilience, suggesting a complex interplay of factors. The trend among different deal types also remained a mixed bag.”
An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database revealed that the number of venture financing deals YoY fell by around 5% during H1 2025, whereas private equity deals volume were down by around 8%. In contrast, M&A activity has remained relatively stable, with deal volume mostly at the same level.
North America continues to dominate the deal landscape, although it has seen a slight contraction of about 3% in deal volume. The US, as the top market, has experienced a modest decline of 2%.
Conversely, the Asia-Pacific region has shown resilience, with a YoY growth of around 3%, driven by uptick in activity in India and Japan that registered double-digit growth. India and Japan saw their respective deal volume increasing by around 12% and 25% in H1 2025.
Europe, on the other hand, has faced challenges, with a YoY decline of about 3% in deal volume. The UK, traditionally the top European market, has seen a decrease of around 3%. However, Germany and Sweden have shown relative resilience with deal volume mostly remaining at the same level. Meanwhile, France, Finland and Belgium have seen increase of around 4%, 17% and 21% in their respective deal volume in H1 2025.
The Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America have also witnessed a decline, with an YoY drop of around 9% for both these regions.
Bose concludes: “While the overall decline in global deal activity may be concerning, the resilience shown by certain markets suggest pockets of opportunity. APAC region has emerged as a bright spot.”
Note: Historic data may change in case some deals get added to previous months because of a delay in disclosure of information in the public domain.
