Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity rebounded with an 11% increase in total deal value year-over-year (YoY) during the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, driven by falling interest rates, modest economic growth, and a renewed focus on supply chain resilience. Mega-deals reached $438 billion, while $61 billion was tied to supply chain-related transactions, highlighting a shift toward localized and technology-driven operations amid the growing global uncertainty, according to GlobalData’s “Global M&A Deals in Q2 2025 – Top Themes by Sector: Strategic Intelligence.”
“Rising geopolitical tensions, changing demographics, increased ESG regulations, ongoing labor shortages, and rapid digital transformation have all intensified the focus on M&A related to supply chains. Companies are increasingly prioritizing resilient, localized, and technology-driven supply chains to mitigate risks and improve operational efficiency. This trend is particularly evident in the consumer, industrials, materials, and healthcare sectors,” says Priya Toppo, strategic intelligence analyst at GlobalData.
GlobalData
Key takeaways:
· Mega-deals, defined as transactions valued at $1 billion or more, rose by 21% YoY during Q2 2025. Supply chain resilience emerged as the most crucial theme, with 28 deals spanning sectors across consumer, industrials, and healthcare sectors.
· An ongoing trend is the dominance of North America in M&A deal activity, which accounted for 3,027 deals worth $357 billion during Q2 2025. However, all regions except Europe registered growth in M&A deal value.
“The M&A outlook for the rest of 2025 is cautiously optimistic, fueled by potential interest rate cuts and the need to adjust to the new tariff landscape. However, large deals may still face challenges in the U.S. due to the ongoing antitrust scrutiny,” Toppo adds.
