In contrast to the first three months of 2026, which saw a record-breaking 12 mega deals (valued over $10 billion) completed, only three such deals closed in the second quarter, according to the WTW data run in partnership with the M&A Research Centre at Bayes Business School. Large deals (valued over $1bn) were also down during the same period, with 48 transactions closed in the last three months compared to 56 in the previous quarter. The fall in mega deals also pushed down the value of completed transactions from a five-year high of $438 billion in the first quarter of 2026 to $232 billion.
The slowdown in deal activity, however, can also be interpreted as a market reset following the major spike in activity at the start of the year. The 202 transactions valued over $100 million completed worldwide in the second quarter of 2026 still surpassed the 176 deals closed in the same period last year. M&A activity during the last three months also came close to the 215 deals completed in the first quarter, showing a resilient performance of smaller deals despite the impact of the conflict in the Middle East.
Jana Mercereau, Head of Europe M&A Consulting, WTW, said: “The M&A market continues to undergo sharp, seesaw swings in deal performance, reflecting an unpredictable macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. Yet, after waves of uncertainty and an uneven deal trajectory that is expected to endure for the rest of 2026, buyers have barely paused and continue to stare down volatility to cut deals.”
All regional acquirers underperformed their respective regional index between April and June 2026. North American acquirers underperformed by -11.6pp with 103 deals completed, compared to -5.4pp and 117 deals in the first quarter of 2026. European dealmakers also underperformed their index by -8.3pp in the last three months with 38 deals completed, compared to +6.0pp during the previous quarter with 40 deals. Reflecting the wider European trend, British acquirers also underperformed the index.
The performance of Asia-Pacific buyers was more acutely depressed, substantially underperforming their regional index by -35.8pp compared to -3.4pp in the first three months of 2026. At the same time, Asia Pacific was the only region to record a quarterly rise in deal volume, with 51 deals completed during the second quarter compared to 49 the previous three months. This increase was achieved despite a sharp fall in transactions by Chinese buyers, who recorded just seven completed transactions compared to 21 in the first quarter.
Mercereau said: “Geopolitical uncertainty, valuation concerns and shifting trade policies have yet to significantly temper the pace, depth, and breadth of the global M&A market. As the push for scale and cost efficiency to address increased competition continue to drive deal momentum, a disciplined, strategy-driven focus on sector-specific opportunities will prove essential to execute deals that create long-term value in turbulent conditions.”
WTW’s Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor (QDPM)
1 The M&A research tracks the number of completed deals over $100m and the share price performance of the acquiring company against the MSCI World Index, which is used as default, unless stated otherwise.
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