The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region witnessed a slowdown in deal activity in the first four months of 2026. The total number of deals (mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC)) announced in the region year-on-year (YoY) decreased by around 8% during January-April 2026, according to GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
The trend across the different deal types under coverage remained a mixed bag. VC was the standout with deal volume rising by 13% YoY during January-April 2026. However, this resilience was not sufficient to counterbalance the weaker appetite for M&A and PE deal-making.
An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that the number of M&A deals announced in the APAC region declined by 23% YoY, whereas PE deal volume volumes dropped by 32% YoY.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The overall decline underscores a cautious start to the year for corporates and investors, as a sharp pullback in M&A and PE outweighed the growth in the VC funding activity. However, the improvement in VC funding activity suggests that select innovation themes continue to attract capital, even as broader market remains more risk-sensitive.”
Market-level performance across the APAC remained uneven, reinforcing the view that deal momentum is increasingly concentrated in a handful of countries. China, which continues to be the top APAC market in terms of deal volume, recorded a strong growth with the number of deals increasing by 23% YoY, helping counterbalance weakness elsewhere. India also grew, albeit modestly, with volumes up by 3% YoY during January-April 2026. Growth in these markets suggests sustained deal-makers’ interest despite global uncertainty.
In contrast, Japan saw the steepest contraction among major markets, with deal volumes down by 40% YoY. Deal activity also softened in other key APAC markets such as Australia, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, which witnessed deal volume declining by 13%, 27%, 19% and 18%, respectively, during January-April 2026.
Bose concludes: “The divergence between VC growth and declining M&A and PE volumes suggests capital is becoming increasingly selective, favoring long-term growth themes over broader expansion or consolidation strategies.”
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.
