Global M&A Trends Survey Report – 2025-2026

Capstone Partners & IMAP Survey Finds Advisors’ M&A Outlook Remains Strong for 2026 Despite Rising Geopolitical and Macroeconomic Headwinds

Capstone Partners and IMAP have released their 2025-2026 Trends in Global M&A Survey Report, with insights from M&A advisors across the world. This report combines Capstone’s in-depth investment banking knowledge with proprietary data obtained from 106 participating IMAP M&A advisors across 54 countries. Capstone and IMAP surveyed M&A advisors between November 10, 2025, and November 24, 2025. The full report, available for download below, provides insight into M&A market activity throughout 2025 and anticipated dealmaking conditions in 2026, with sections including:

1. M&A Market Conditions
2. M&A Valuation Dynamics
3. Sell-Side M&A Considerations
4. Global Economic Impacts

The report also reveals data by industry and region, highlighting significant variances.

Key Findings:

M&A Volume Expectations Remain Strong for 2026

As uncertainty around trade and macroeconomic volatility continues to settle, the vast majority (72.6%) of advisors surveyed expect M&A deal flow to increase in 2026. While this marks a 6.4% decline year-over-year (YOY), investment bankers’ optimism for M&A activity has largely persisted. After several years of waiting on the sidelines amid a high interest rate and volatile economic environment, private equity (PE) acquirers returned as buyers in 2025, a trend that has supported advisors’ M&A growth outlook for 2026. While the majority of investment bankers surveyed in each geography anticipate transaction activity to increase, growth expectations for M&A volume have shrunk YOY in North America (-10.1%), Europe/Middle East/Africa (-5.7%), and Latin America (-2.8%). In contrast, advisors’ expectations for deal volume growth in the Asia region have expanded substantially, rising 16.6% YOY for 2026.

Recent macroeconomic volatility has significantly impacted cross-border M&A dynamics in 2025 and has continued to shape advisors’ international transaction expectations for 2026. Factors such as the recent devaluation of the U.S. dollar and the volatile implementation of disruptive global tariff policies have muted North American advisors’ expectations for cross-border M&A in 2026. In contrast, Latin American advisors see these macro-influences as potential tailwinds to M&A, particularly as international buyers continue to pursue nearshoring investments at attractive valuations in the region. Despite navigating geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds in 2025, advisors’ expectations for an increase in cross-border M&A in 2026 have grown YOY for Latin America (+27.6%), Europe/Middle East/Africa (+14.3%), and North America (+3.9%) and remained steady YOY for international acquisitions in the Asia region.

Advisors’ outlook for PE activity has remained strong for 2026, with the lion’s share (45.3%) of total investment bankers surveyed expecting sponsor dealmaking to increase in 2026. While interest rate cuts in Europe, North America and parts of Asia throughout 2024 and 2025 have largely kept investment bankers’ PE M&A outlook elevated for 2026, recent trade policy volatility has seen this figure decline 5.7% compared to 2025 expectations. In 2026, advisors expect PE firms to most commonly target companies in recession resilient, noncyclical industries like Business Services and Healthcare as well as those experiencing rapid technological growth from artificial intelligence (AI), such as Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT). Robust levels of dry powder and an easing Credit market will likely continue supporting PE dealmaking growth into 2026.

M&A Purchase Multiple Strength Expected to Persist in 2026

Roughly a quarter (25.5%) of advisors anticipate M&A transaction multiples in 2026 to moderately rise compared to 2025. However, most (66%) advisors foresee little to no change in M&A multiples in 2026. Across all investment bankers surveyed, the average typical and premium M&A EBITDA multiples are expected to reach 6.8x and 9.8x, respectively—an uptick from the 2025 outlook. Interest rate paths and acquirer appetite will likely dictate transaction pricing trends in the coming year.

Asia is slated to lead global M&A pricing in 2026, with advisors anticipating an average EBITDA multiple of 9.7x. The region’s expanding middle class and accelerating urbanization have likely uplifted demand and valuation expectations. North America is estimated to garner the second-highest average M&A EBITDA multiple (9.1x) as this geography had the highest composition of investment bankers predicting transaction volume growth for 2026. Central bank volatility in EMEA and Latin America has tempered valuation expectations among advisors in these regions.

Acquirers Continue Prioritizing Recurring Revenue

Buyers have become increasingly selective in their M&A pursuits, prioritizing target companies with robust financial visibility. Of note, 66% of total investment bankers surveyed indicated that recurring revenue will be the most important characteristic to acquirers in 2026. While this marks a 3% decline from 2024, recurring revenue has remained the top criteria among buyers pursuing an acquisition. PE buyers have been drawn to target companies with recurring revenue as it enables sponsors to rapidly scale the business and capture a favorable return on exit. Heightened regard for financial visibility has seen advisor’s affinity for targets with strong margin profiles and defensible cashflows expand 4.1% and 6.2% since 2024, respectively.

Geopolitical Volatility to Impact Client Operations in 2026

On a global basis, advisors ranked the geopolitical environment as the most likely factor to impact their clients’ business operations in 2026. This marks a stark contrast to previous survey studies, where advisors ranked inflation as the largest influence on client operations for three consecutive years between 2022 and 2024. Advisors anticipate the rapid advancement of new AI applications to increasingly impact clients’ business operations in 2026, moving up three rank positions since 2024. The introduction of new tariff policies and the subsequent volatility surrounding their implementation has, unsurprisingly, pushed advisors to identify trade uncertainty and tariff policies as the third- and-fourth-ranked operational challenges expected to impact client operations throughout 2026. Businesses operating in industries with little reliance on supply-chain operations are expected to perform the best in 2026 amid the uncertain and shifting trade environment. Specifically, advisors identified the Aerospace, Defense, Government & Security (61.3%), Business Services (46.2%), and TMT (45.3%) sectors to perform the best in 2026.

External Challenges to Increasingly Delay Deal Closings, Realistic Valuations Remain Key to Successful Sell-Sides

Several external factors are slated to continue challenging the global M&A market, with most (56.6%) advisors ranking market volatility/economic uncertainty as the top factor expected to delay or inhibit deal closings in 2026. Notably, 40.6% of advisors also cited trade uncertainty/tariff policies as a leading external element to curb M&A in 2026. While a recent acceleration in macroeconomic volatility has heightened advisors’ awareness of outside hindrances, key operational challenges have remained top-of-mind for 2026 dealmaking activity. Half of the surveyed advisors identified unmet revenue projections as the top operational M&A challenge for 2026, followed by excessive valuation expectations (48.1%).

Successful sell-side M&A elements have closely aligned with advisors’ expectations for deal closing hindrances throughout 2026. Advisors identified realistic deal valuations as the most prominent element expected to help sellers achieve a successful M&A transaction in 2026. This represents a close alignment with the nearly half (48.1%) of advisors anticipating excessive valuation expectations to hinder deal closings in 2026. Notably, advisors have identified M&A strategy as an area of growing importance in achieving a fruitful M&A deal, rising four ranks since 2024.

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