IMAP closes 254 M&A transactions worth more than $16 billion in 2025
In 2025, IMAP completed 254 M&A transactions worldwide, a result that highlights the resilience of the global mid-market in a year marked by economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and an evolving capital markets environment. Throughout the year, activity remained solid where there was a clear strategic rationale, consistent sector fundamentals and execution certainty.
A complex macro environment reshaping dealmaking
Market conditions in 2025 were demanding. The potential introduction of new tariff regimes, persistent trade tensions and divergent monetary policy paths contributed to a climate of caution among both buyers and financiers. Financing remained selective, due diligence processes lengthened and valuation gaps persisted across many sectors. In this context, M&A activity did not disappear, but became more deliberate, structured and quality-driven.
IMAP performance focused on “quality-driven” transactions
IMAP’s performance reflects this shift. Transactions increasingly focused on companies with strong market positions, defensible cash flows and clearly defined strategic relevance. Clients turned to IMAP not only to execute transactions, but also to navigate complexity, particularly in cross-border deals, extended processes and situations requiring creative structures to address risk factors and valuation gaps.
International activity once again proved to be one of the year’s strengths: more than one third of IMAP’s transactions were cross-border, leveraging the global reach of the network to access capital, buyers and strategic opportunities beyond domestic markets.
Key sectors driving deal flow
From a sector perspective, Industrials, Services, Technology and Consumer once again concentrated the core of deal flow, supported by long-term structural trends such as consolidation, digital transformation and the energy transition. In these sectors, activity was underpinned by succession processes, corporate portfolio realignments and selective participation by Private Equity.
Private Equity maintained a disciplined investment approach, prioritising high-quality assets and structured solutions in an environment where financing conditions and valuations remained constrained. Over the course of the year, pressure to deploy capital and execute exits also increased, reinforcing expectations of greater momentum ahead.
