The global deals market saw steady growth in 2025, as it continued to bounce back from it’s major slump two years previously. Leaders are now positioned for a bumper 2026, according to experts from WTW, as the first quarter has seen a major leap in the volume and value of M&As.
M&A transactions of $10 billion or more have hit an all-time record in the first three months of 2026, according to research on completed deals from WTW’s Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor. A total of 12 mega deals closed in the first quarter of 2026, the highest figure for any quarter since 2008. In contrast, only two such deals were completed in the prior three months.
This also helped to propel the value of completed deals in the first quarter of 2026 to a five-year high of $438 billion – a dramatic jump of 155% compared to the same period in 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, 56 large deals (valued over $1 billion) were completed, marginally higher than the previous quarter and an increase from 40 deals in the first three months of 2025.
Source: WTW
Even without the insurgence of megadeals, however, the first quarter has still seen a jump in the number of deals in the first three months of the year. Run in partnership with the M&A Research Centre at Bayes Business School, the data also shows that a total of 215 deals valued over $100 million were completed worldwide during the first three months of 2026. This is a 32% increase in volume compared to the 163 transactions closed in the same period last year, and the fifth consecutive quarterly rise. It is also the highest number of deals of this size since the third quarter of 2022 – which, while it was lower than the record-breaking haul the year before, still saw the highest totals since 2018.
Looking at the reasons why this may be, researchers from WTW pointed to the performance of previous deals. In spite of various headwinds facing investors and businesses across the global economy, based on share price performance, global dealmakers achieved a market outperformance, as companies making M&A deals outclassed the wider market by 2.5% for acquisitions valued over $100 million completed between January and March 2026. This is a marked improvement compared to the previous quarter when acquirers underperformed the MSCI World Index by -13.9%.
Jana Mercereau, Head of Europe M&A Consulting, WTW, said, “Mega transactions have re-emerged with a vengeance. Well-capitalised dealmakers have returned to the market with renewed confidence, taking advantage of improved M&A conditions to pursue large strategic transactions to scale operations, bridge capability gaps and secure critical AI-enabling technologies.”
Source: WTW
European dealmakers led the M&A sector with a strong performance during the first quarter of 2026. Based on share price performance, European buyers outclassed companies not involved in M&A activities by an impressive 6.0%, with 40 completed deals. UK acquirers mirrored the wider European trend with a positive performance – in spite of research last year suggesting many were unprepared for a revival in the M&A market space.
Looking ahead, Mercereau added, “Pent-up demand, a favourable regulatory environment and healthy balance sheets have reawakened animal spirits, driving the value of dealmaking close to all-time highs. The duration and scale of the Middle East conflict, however, risks denting deal momentum, with corporate executives likely to stretch timelines and deepen due diligence. Boardroom confidence remains strong, for the time being at least, as dealmakers normalise heightened geopolitical risk and appear resolved to ride through the bumps and persist with strategic deals.”
Cooling sentiment on AI investments could also lead to a cooling of this trend, however. North America – where funding the expensive infrastructure needed for AI is already propping up the US economy – saw a huge portion of global M&A value, at $346 billion in value for the first quarter. And while investments in that space might currently be performing well in terms of stick performance, the bottom may be liable to fall out, as scrutiny on the material value of the industry’s leading players mounts.
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