Senior M&A Partner Frank Aquila, Global Head of M&A Melissa Sawyer and associate Yaqi Han co-authored “One Battle After Another: M&A in 2025 and What to Expect in 2026” for the January edition of The M&A Lawyer. Frank, Melissa and Yaqi explore 2025’s transitional year, marked by persistent volatility and a lag in deal volume, alongside renewed strategic conviction and an uptick in overall M&A activity. “While global deal volume remained subdued, overall deal value rose sharply as capital concentrated in a small number of large, high-impact transactions.”
In summarizing the close of 2025, the authors note that cautious optimism is expected to carry into 2026. “[W]hile caution is always warranted, the M&A market enters 2026 with momentum, capital and conviction,” they wrote. “Many of the tailwinds that have supported deal activity throughout the year—strong corporate balance sheets, the urgency of business transformation, and a backlog of strategic transactions deferred during prior market dislocation—remain intact.”
Download the article.