Earlier this year, we (ambitiously) predicted that 2025 would be when the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) sector would emerge from its long-term drought. In 2024, Bain reported that global M&A activity reached $3.5 trillion, bringing it in line with levels not seen since the mid-2010s.
Now that it’s April 2025, many wonder if the M&A industry has recovered from its period of slow growth.
Spoiler – it has not (so far). Across industry reports, it does not seem that M&A is experiencing economic momentum. For example, Meghan Graper, Global Head of Debt Capital Markets at Barclays, notes that only $8 billion in acquisition financing is currently in the pipeline (compared to approximately $100 billion at the same time last year). Therefore, this year has marked the lowest level of acquisition financing since June 2020.
Nonetheless, 2025 so far has seen some high-profile mergers and acquisitions (most notable in the technology sector), including:
As you can see, the drought in M&A hasn’t prevented multi-billion-dollar tech deals from crossing the finish line. Yet, more significant economic problems prevent M&A from returning to pre-pandemic activity levels.
The Trump Bump? Consider it more like a slump.
Various sources – including M&A Advisor and A&O Shearman – suggest that the Trump administration’s pro-business and potentially lenient antitrust enforcement attitudes towards M&A could yield a year of prosperity.
To date, these predictions have not come to fruition, as ‘Trump’s tariff policy and erratic moves’ have resulted in sluggish growth and paranoia (according to Forbes).
Of course, Trump’s administration still has until January 2029 to rebound the M&A market. Fingers crossed that deal activity could accelerate if the macroeconomic environment stabilises later in 2025 – indicated by interest rates falling and investor confidence returning. Individual firms can always contribute towards the industry’s growth, supported by AI deployments.
Late last year, we interviewed deal advisory, Langcliffe International on how they were planning a company-wide AI integration. They drew a careful line between AI and human-added value, noting that ‘Our strategy is to leverage AI, not for the sake of leveraging AI, but to empower the business to add even more value to these customer relationships and be a people-first business supported by the best technology’.
Langcliffe’s use case stands out as a clear success story. It reinforces the value of AI often highlighted in M&A publications, where statistics and expert opinions consistently praise its impact. For example:
Therefore, it seems reasonable to wonder – could AI be what’s required to send M&A’s profitability soaring? Technology deals account for a large share of M&A’s economic activity. However, (actually) deploying AI within M&A firms can have several benefits for M&A businesses in uncertain times. Such benefits include:
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of how firms can use correctly implemented AI to facilitate faster deal signing. But by taking an open-minded approach, M&A firms can support the industry’s growth through greater efficiency and enhanced firm-level performance.
Overall, it is still apparent that M&A remains in the middle of its drought (or slump). Despite a tech-driven M&A revival, political and economic pressures prevent M&A from fully recovering.
As firms like Langcliffe International prove, M&A firms can survive and thrive by utilising technology to enhance faster, more accurate decision-making.
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