European and Asia Pacific dealmakers outperformed global peers in the first half of 2025, as M&A activity continued despite a broader global slowdown and persistent market uncertainty, according to WTW’s latest Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor.
Based on share price movements for transactions valued over $100 mn, European acquirers exceeded their regional index by +9.4 percentage points during the period.
This represents a sharp reversal from the -9.2 pp underperformance recorded in the first half of 2024. UK dealmakers matched the continent’s performance, completing 64 deals compared to 65 in the same period last year.
Asia Pacific buyers also achieved gains, outperforming their regional index by +3.9 pp. Deal volume in the region increased from 69 in H1 2024 to 100 so far this year, driven mainly by renewed Chinese M&A activity. China completed 33 deals in the first six months of 2025, up from 12 a year earlier.
North America’s downturn continued. The region completed just 160 deals in H1 2025, compared to 187 in the same period last year and 292 in H1 2021 — a 55% decline over four years.
North American acquirers underperformed their index by -2.5 pp, though this was an improvement from the -12.4 pp seen in H1 2024. The region has now reported ten consecutive quarters of negative performance.
“For all the surprises this year, from tariff uncertainty to regional conflicts, deals are still getting done,” said Jana Mercereau, head of European M&A consulting at WTW.
She noted that while M&A in North America faces stronger challenges, dealmaking remains strong in Europe and is accelerating in Asia as buyers adjust to higher market volatility with a longer-term, more pragmatic approach to securing value.
WTW’s findings, based on share price performance of acquiring companies and compiled with the M&A Research Centre at Bayes Business School, indicate that dealmakers are responding to increased geopolitical risk.
Mercereau added that in response to tariff tensions, a “survival of the fittest” dynamic may drive more M&A in certain sectors. Companies in tariff-sensitive industries with cross-border supply chains could increasingly seek to localise operations to become more stable in a volatile geopolitical environment.
Globally, 339 deals valued over $100 mn were completed in the first half of 2025, roughly matching the 332 transactions recorded in the same period of 2024.
There were 82 large deals (over $1 bn), up from 69 a year ago, but only three mega-deals (over $10 bn) closed, compared to nine in H1 2024.
Overall, buyers worldwide outperformed the market by +0.2 pp, marking the first positive half-year result since 2021 and a notable improvement from the -11.1 pp underperformance seen last year.
Among sectors, telecommunications led with a +28.6 pp gain, followed by materials at +11.6 pp. Large transactions (over $1 bn) performed best at +6.1 pp, while smaller and cross-sector deals underperformed by -2.2 pp and -3.1 pp respectively.
