Interest in dealmaking stays high while cooling slightly
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Summary
Two-thirds of 500 corporate and private equity dealmakers surveyed by Deloitte in April 2026 expected deal volume to increase over the following 12 months, a notably optimistic reading but a pullback from the 84% who held the same expectation in the December 2025 survey. Actual deal volume has remained broadly stable across five quarters, but aggregate deal value surged in the second half of 2025 and first quarter of 2026 due to large transactions.
Market Impact
The data suggests dealmaking confidence is normalizing after a period of heightened optimism, with cross-border activity particularly robust: 65% expected to increase offshore acquisitions, led by growth and capability expansion as the primary motivation for three-quarters of respondents. Synergy challenges, particularly revenue synergies and tax and legal entity integration, are the most commonly cited execution risks in cross-border deals. This analysis is informational and avoids any directional trading claims.
Why It Matters
It provides a current-period snapshot of dealmaker sentiment from a broad sample of corporate and PE acquirers, with granular motivation and challenge data by sector and deal type.
Key Points
- 66% of 500 corporate and private equity dealmakers surveyed by Deloitte in April 2026 expected deal volume to increase in the next 12 months, down from 84% in the December 2025 survey.
- Aggregate global deal value surged in the second half of 2025 and Q1 2026 due to mega-sized transactions, while middle-market and smaller deal activity remained steady.
- 65% of dealmakers expected cross-border acquisition interest to increase; top motivations were growth and capability expansion (75%), financial optimization (65%) and risk diversification (60%).
- Revenue and sales synergies were identified as the most challenging aspect of cross-border deals by 44% of respondents, followed by tax and legal entity synergies and procurement/supply chain integration.
Key Entities
Evidence
Asked in April about expectations for their M&A activity over the following 12 months, two-thirds of 500 corporate and private equity dealmakers surveyed by Deloitte said they expected the number of deals to increase....Supports: Supports the survey results.
While that's an optimistic view, it nonetheless reflects a pullback from Deloitte's prior quarterly survey last December, when 84% of survey participants forecasted an upturn in deal volume.Supports: Supports the quarter-over-quarter sentiment moderation.
Among motivations for overseas acquisitions, 'growth and capability expansion' topped the list, with three-quarters of dealmakers saying it's either a high or mid-level priority. Next came financial optimization/capit...Supports: Supports the cross-border deal motivation data.