Global deal activity continued to soften in 2025, with mergers and acquisitions (M&A), venture financing, and private equity transactions collectively down 2% year on year for the period January through July, according to data from GlobalData.
All three categories saw contractions. M&A remained relatively flat, slipping about 1%. Venture financing was down 4%, while private equity deals dropped more sharply at 14%.
“The decline in deal activity and the fall in volume across all deal types suggests a cautious approach, possibly due to economic uncertainties and shifting market dynamics,” said Aurojyoti Bose, lead analyst at GlobalData. “The coming months will be critical in determining whether this decline is a temporary setback or indicative of a more prolonged downturn in global deal activity.”
The slowdown was not uniform across geographies. North America recorded a 4% reduction in deal numbers, with the US the main driver of the decline.
Europe showed a similar 4% decrease, while Central and South America contracted by 9% and the Middle East and Africa by 10%.
By contrast, Asia-Pacific registered 3% growth, supported by increased activity in China, India, and Japan.
Country-level data highlighted further divergence: The US declined by 3%, the UK by 5%, and Canada by 11%. Meanwhile, China, India, and Japan rose 4%, 10%, and 24%, respectively.
Findings from law firm Clyde & Co indicate that the insurance sector mirrored the broader slowdown.
Carrier-led M&A fell to its lowest half-year total since the 2008 financial crisis, with 95 deals completed in the first six months of 2025. That compared with 106 during the same period in 2024 and a 10-year first-half average of 192.
Clyde & Co said insurers were wary of large-scale transactions, pointing to high valuations and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Instead, many pursued smaller domestic transactions, capital management initiatives and share repurchase programmes.
Examples of larger completed deals included Sentry Insurance’s US$1.7 billion purchase of The General from American Family Insurance and Markel’s acquisition of marine managing general agent (MGA) MECO.
While overall insurance M&A volumes fell, interest in MGA platforms continued.
Clyde & Co said MGAs’ relatively low capital requirements and operational flexibility made them attractive to both carriers and private investors.
Activity was concentrated in North America, Europe and parts of the Middle East, with strategic buyers continuing to build MGA networks for long-term expansion.
Geographically, the US accounted for the most insurance transactions with 35, followed by EMEA with 29, APAC with 25, and Latin America with four. Of the total, 21 were cross-border deals.
Peter Hodgins, global head of corporate insurance at Clyde & Co, said dealmaking remained complex.
“Getting deals done is hard and they are taking longer to complete,” he said. “But there’s evidence to suggest that pent up demand from carriers looking for strategic growth will result in higher activity in the second half of the year.”
Hodgins noted that some major insurers had indicated interest in acquisitions and were preparing to enter emerging markets.
“We are seeing evidence that international carriers are readying themselves for M&A that gets them access to higher growth emerging markets. The MGA story will continue into the second half of the year and into 2026, with continued aggregation of multi-jurisdictional capabilities that grants carriers access to new markets,” he said.
