Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will exceed $3 trillion this year, with experts expecting an increase in large deals in 2025 under Donald Trump’s presidency, writes the Financial Times. According to the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the M&A market in 2024 increased by 11%. A year earlier, its volume fell below the $3 trillion mark for the first time in more than a decade.
The value of so-called mega deals (worth more than $5 billion) has increased by 19% since the beginning of this year. That’s what drove total M&A volume up, while the number of deals fell 20% to a nine-year low.
High-profile deals this year included U.S. Mars’ $35.9 billion purchase of Kellanova, which makes Pringles chips, among other things, and financial firm Capital One Financial’s $35.3 billion acquisition of rival Discover Financial Services. A number of experts hope Trump’s return to the White House will mean less regulatory scrutiny of big mergers after the skeptical stance taken by regulators during Joe Biden’s presidency.
“The regulatory environment is expected to be less burdensome,” believes Anu Iyengar, global head of advisory and M&A at JPMorgan Chase.
“There are many signs pointing to 2025 being a successful year,” said Centerview Partners co-president of investment banking Tony Kim.
Although M&A activity slowed in the past three months compared to the third quarter, a flurry of deals followed the U.S. election in November.
“Rumors of a collapse in the M&A market have been exaggerated to some extent,” says Stefan Feldgois, co-head of global M&A at Goldman Sachs. – Since the election, activity has picked up markedly.
The U.S. accounted for 46% of global M&A activity this year. At the same time, the amount of deals grew by 8%.
M&A volume in Asia-Pacific was down 2%, although Japan jumped 45% to a 19-year high. Europe recorded a 20% rise. Investment banking fees rose 12% year-on-year to $111 billion, above the average for the past decade, the FT noted.
Goldman Sachs Group maintained its position as the global leader in M&A advisory. Morgan Stanley displaced JPMorgan Chase & Co. to take second place.
The Ukrainian market for mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which until recently experienced a shortage of buyers, has been growing for the third year in a row, Serhiy Budkin, the Managing Partner of FinPoint Investment Advisers, has said.
Commenting on the situation on the market within the framework of the Kyiv International Economic Forum, the expert predicted several large transactions in the next 12 months, including in the financial sector, IT and development.
The founder of UFuture Holding, Vasyl Khmelnytsky, at the forum estimated the average multiplier when evaluating Ukrainian companies at about 6. In particular, speaking of the annual sales of his company at $70 million, he estimated its value at about $420 million, although in Europe it could cost $700 million.
Khmelnytsky told Interfax-Ukraine that the multiplier for Ukrainian companies may vary depending on the industry, for example, in medicine – 8, while in manufacturing – 5.
At the same time, the entrepreneur noted that some foreign buyers still expect a lower price and a high return on investment from Ukrainian investments – in 4 years, while the multiplier 6 is about 15% per annum.
Budkin generally agreed with this assessment of the multiplier for Ukrainian companies.
“The multiples have a tendency to increase. The revival [of the M&A market] leads to an increase in the multiplier in itself,” he said.
