Dubai 30 June 2025: A Reuters report stated that Asia has dominated major merger and acquisition (M&A) deals, driving markets higher. Japan and China led the region, which accounted for 27.3% of global M&A activity—an increase of more than 11 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, M&A activity in the first half of the year fell short of expectations due to the trade war led by U.S. President Donald Trump, rising interest rates, and geopolitical tensions, though signs of recovery are emerging in global markets.
Some of the largest deals in the region remained within the Asia-Pacific area. Toyota Motor announced plans on June 3 to take one of its private suppliers private in a $33 billion deal. On June 16, a consortium led by Abu Dhabi’s National Oil Company (ADNOC) launched an all-cash $18.7 billion takeover bid for Santos, Australia’s second-largest oil producer.
Asia also contributed to driving global equity issuance higher despite market volatility, with total volumes rising about 8% to $350 billion compared to the same period last year.
Raghav Maliah, Global Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs—which ranks second in overall investment banking fees and first in M&A revenue—said,
“You will see more Asia-to-Asia activity. Japan has been a big driver of all deal volumes in Asia, and we believe this trend will continue.”
Tommy Rueger, Global Co-Head of Equity Capital Markets at UBS, noted that the expectation was to see heavy deal activity in the first half of 2025, but the reality was different. Nevertheless, interviews with over a dozen bankers suggest the worst market turbulence may be over, with new record highs in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes fueling optimism for a stronger second half.
Ivan Farman, Co-Head of Global M&A at Bank of America, said,
“There were a lot of deals that were put on hold that will come back. I’m optimistic about the second half.”
The market recovery and easing of U.S. antitrust policies are expected to pave the way for larger deals. John Collins, Global Co-Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at Morgan Stanley, pointed to increased chances of mega deals worth over $50 billion compared to last year.
Deal values signed from January 1 through June 27 reached $2.14 trillion, up 26% from the same period last year, with Asia’s activity more than doubling to $583.9 billion. North American deal activity also rose 17% to $1.04 trillion.
Market volatility has dropped, increasing investor confidence, leading institutional investors back into equities and accelerating IPO plans that were previously postponed.
Philip Ross, Vice Chairman of Jefferies, said,
“Momentum continues to build, people feel more positive and are starting to implement decisions.”
Saadi Soudavar, Head of Equity Capital Markets for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Deutsche Bank, added,
“Equity markets have shown a remarkable ability to shrug off tariff and geopolitical-related volatility.”
Although the number of deals was lower than last year (17,528 vs. 20,583), this year’s deals were larger in size, with a 62% increase in $10 billion-plus deals.
Together, these indicators suggest that global M&A markets will see increased activity in the second half of the year, led by Asia and other regions in this recovery phase.
