Global deal activity witnessed a year‑on‑year (YoY) decline during January-August 2025, with contractions across all deal types and most of the regions, even as pockets of resilience and growth emerged. The total number of deals (comprising mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity and venture financing deals) announced globally fell by around 3% during January-August 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database revealed that all the deal types under coverage registered YoY declines, while performance across different regions and key markets remained a mixed bag.
M&A activity recorded a slight decline, down approximately 2% during the first eight months of 2025 compared with the same period last year. Venture financing activity also contracted, posting a YoY decline of around 5% in deal volumes. Private equity transactions experienced the steepest fall among all deal types, declining by about 16% during January-August 2025 compared to January-August 2024.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “These declines reflect continued caution amid lingering macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties. However, some regions and key markets showcased resilience and managed to buck the global trend.”
Regionally, North America saw a decline of about 4% YoY, consistent with the broader trend in global activity. Europe also experienced a contraction of about 5%. The Middle East & Africa registered a decline of around 10%, while deal activity in South & Central America slipped by about 9%. In contrast, Asia‑Pacific (APAC) bucked the trend and posted an increase of around 1% in deal volume during January-August 2025 compared to January-August 2024.
The US experienced a decline of around 3% in deal activity from last year, reflecting a cautious investor stance. Canada also faced around 9% fall in deal activity.
Several established European markets, including the UK and Germany, recorded declines of around 5% and 3% in deal volumes, respectively, during January-August 2025 compared to January-August 2024.
Other key markets such as Brazil, the UAE, Australia, South Korea and Singapore registered fall in deal volume by 9%, 8%, 6%, 22% and 12% YoY, respectively, during January-August 2025.
Meanwhile, China posted an increase of about 5% YoY in deal volume, whereas India saw around 6% increase, reinforcing their roles as principal engines of growth in the global deal landscape. Japan also outperformed with a notable growth of around 16% in deal activity. Deal activity in Saudi Arabia also rose by around 13% YoY.
Bose concludes: “While global volumes have contracted, the uneven regional performance and growth in select countries points to a selective recovery path, signaling sustained investor appetite for opportunities in some growth markets.”
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
