Europe and Asia Pacific have emerged as the leading regions for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first half of 2025, according to new research from WTW, an advisory, broking, and solutions company.
WTW’s Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor (QDPM), produced in partnership with the M&A Research Centre at Bayes Business School, reveals that European buyers outperformed their regional market index by 9.4 percentage points on deals valued over $100 million.
This represents a significant turnaround from the same period in 2024, when European dealmakers underperformed their index by 9.2 percentage points, according to WTW’s data. UK acquirers followed the wider European trend, contributing to the region’s strong performance.
Deal volume in Europe remained steady, with 64 deals completed in the first six months of 2025, almost identical to the 65 recorded during the same period last year, WTW reports.
WTW’s analysis shows that Asia Pacific buyers also returned to positive territory, outperforming their regional index by 3.9 percentage points.
The region saw a substantial increase in deal volume, with 100 deals completed in the first half of 2025 compared to 69 in the same period of 2024.
WTW attributes much of this growth to a sharp rise in Chinese M&A activity, where completed deals nearly tripled from 12 in early 2024 to 33 in 2025. This surge in Chinese transactions has been a key driver of Asia Pacific’s improving performance.
In contrast, WTW’s data highlights a continued decline in North American M&A activity. The region saw a 55% drop in deal volume over the last four years, falling from 292 completed deals in the first half of 2021 to just 160 so far in 2025.
North American acquirers underperformed their regional index by 2.5 percentage points, marking the tenth consecutive quarter of negative returns, though this is an improvement over the 12.4 percentage points underperformance recorded in the same period last year, according to WTW.
On a global scale, WTW recorded 339 deals valued at over $100 million completed in the first half of 2025, slightly up from 332 deals during the same period in 2024. The number of large deals, those valued over $1 billion, also increased from 69 to 82.
However, mega-deals exceeding $10 billion declined sharply, with only three completed so far this year compared to nine in the first half of 2024, WTW’s data shows. Overall, buyers globally marginally outperformed the market by 0.2 percentage points, marking the first positive first-half return since 2021, a notable improvement from the 11.1 percentage points underperformance recorded last year.
According to WTW’s sector analysis, telecommunications was the strongest-performing industry, delivering returns of 28.6 percentage points, followed by materials at 11.6 percentage points. Large deals outperformed smaller transactions by 6.1 percentage points on average.
Meanwhile, cross-sector deals and those valued under $1 billion struggled to create value, underperforming by 3.1 and 2.2 percentage points respectively, based on WTW’s findings.
Jana Mercereau, Head of Europe M&A Consulting, WTW, commented: “For all the surprises this year, from tariff uncertainty to regional conflicts, deals are still getting done. While M&A in North America faces mounting headwinds, dealmaking thrives in Europe and accelerates in Asia, as buyers adapt to rising market volatility by approaching deals with a longer-term, more pragmatic view to achieve maximum value.
“In response to tariff tensions, a ‘survival of the fittest’ dynamic looks primed to trigger a wave of M&A activity in certain sectors. Dealmakers in tariff-exposed industries with complex cross-border supply chains may increasingly look to localise supply chains in a bid to make themselves more resilient and resistant to the more volatile geopolitical backdrop.”
Mercereau added: “Geopolitical uncertainty may be the new normal, yet dealmakers are finding ways to adjust and navigate today’s more complex and unpredictable market to successfully unlock long-term value from M&A. While North America remains stuck on the sidelines, Europe and Asia will continue to set the pace, where momentum is building and there are signs that dealmaking will accelerate in 2025.”
