Norton Rose Fulbright/Mergermarket launches Global M&A trends and risks report

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, in collaboration with Mergermarket, has released the third edition of its annual Global M&A trends and risks report, examining the trends shaping dealmaking around the world and including a survey of 200 top-level executives that took place across Q1 and Q2 of this year. 

The respondents included 100 executives from multinational corporations as well as 50 from large private equity firms and 50 from major investment banks, all of whom have participated in M&A across multiple regions and sectors over the past two years. Results were analyzed by Mergermarket and responses were anonymized and presented in the aggregate. 

Key findings include:

• New era of volatility unsettles dealmakers: When surveyed in Q1 2025, 53 percent of respondents expected their own organization’s appetite for M&A to increase in 2025 compared to last year. However, the market turmoil caused by “reciprocal tariff” announcements impacted sentiment. In response to a follow-up question on this subject, more than two-thirds of respondents said the escalation in trade tensions had caused their appetite for M&A to decrease. 
• Popularity of deal insurance set to soar: Overall, nearly 65 percent of respondents expect the use of representations and warranties insurance (RWI) to increase in 2025 compared to 2024, including 37 percent who expect that increase to be significant (up from 26 percent in our previous study). This trend is observable in every market around the world, particularly in the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia, with more than 45 percent of respondents in both regions forecasting a significant increase in the use of RWI.
• Dealmakers move quickly to integrate AI: Fifty-one percent have acquired an AI business, with respondents applying the technology to various parts of their M&A processes, from deal sourcing to due diligence. Moreover, 46 percent report that they are looking to acquire an AI business in the near term. In our previous 2024 study, just 33 percent of respondents said they were looking to acquire an AI business.
• Strategic buyers focus on domestic targets: Respondents expect that domestic strategic buyers will come to the fore as the most active acquirers in 2025. This is particularly pronounced in emerging markets, including Latin America (74 percent), Africa (61 percent), and South and Southeast Asia (57 percent).
• Private credit helps to fill financing gap: At the global level, 35 percent of respondents expect it to become more difficult to secure M&A-related financing in 2025 compared with 2024. Overall, a quarter of respondents believe private credit will be the single most important form of financing to be employed in the market over the next two years for M&A deals. Respondents agree that this financing type is gaining momentum across Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
• Private equity ready to put dry powder to work: Forty-four percent of survey participants expect domestic private equity buyers to be among the most active types of acquirers in deal markets in 2025. Their presence will be felt across all markets, according to our respondents, with a particular emphasis on South and Southeast Asia (49 percent). Their international PE peers, meanwhile, are expected to be especially active in neighboring East Asia (41 percent) as well as Europe (also 41 percent) and Australia and New Zealand (43 percent).

Raj Karia, Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global Head of Corporate, M&A and Securities, said:

“We’re seeing a clear shift in how clients approach M&A, with a move towards more deliberate and strategic planning. This year’s report captures that evolution, with trade tensions, financing pressures and regulatory scrutiny all influencing how deals are structured and executed.”

Norton Rose Fulbright’s global corporate, M&A and securities team provides practical business-focused legal advice across the full spectrum of matters, including public transactions, take-privates, strategic review processes, joint ventures, carveout dispositions and acquisitions, debt and equity capital markets transactions, governance, compliance, general commercial and corporate advisory matters. More than 450 M&A partners and 700 other deal lawyers worldwide advise on some of the most high-profile, complex and significant transactions in the market.