The first half of 2025 showed signs of life for both M&A and IPO activity, despite lingering macroeconomic headwinds, uncertainty around tariff policies, and ongoing geopolitical instability. There is also optimism that deal activity will continue ramping up in the second half of the year, as trade policies potentially ease and markets stabilize.
Below, we take inventory of notable M&A activity and trends from the first half of the year, with supporting expert, analyst, and industry insights leveraged from the AlphaSense platform.
Trade Negotiations Spark Rebound
The announcement of trade agreements and negotiations between the United States and China, the United Kingdom, India, the EU, and Canada sparked a rebound in deal activity and renewed confidence in the easing of trade tensions.
According to an EY report, the number of deals valued at $100 million plus rose 6.1% in May compared to April. Economic outlooks have also upped GDP growth projections and reduced the probability of a recession within the next year.
While residual choppiness lingers, private equity deal value is up 61% compared to the same period in 2024, offering a bright outlook for deal activity.
Deals by Sector
Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT)
Within the TMT space, recent deals penned in the fiberoptics space point to providers looking to expand their national footprint while “organic builds continue,” according to analysts.
Charter (CHTR) to Acquire Cox
Charter will merge with Cox in a $34.5 billion deal announced in May, acquiring its commercial fiber and managed IT and cloud businesses.
AT&T (T) to Acquire Lumen Fiber Assets (LUMN)
In a deal announced in late May, AT&T will acquire Lumen’s Mass Markets fiber business for $5.75 billion.
Zayo Acquires Crown Castle Fiber Solutions
Zayo announced plans to acquire Crown Castle Fiber Solutions in March for $4.25 billion, adding 90,000 new route miles to its network and advancing its “strategic focus on investing in the critical fiber infrastructure that will support the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).”
Software M&A deals have also gained traction since the start of the year, reinforcing ongoing investments in AI infrastructure.
Salesforce (CRM) to Acquire Informatica (INFA)
In March, Salesforce announced it would acquire Informatica, a company specializing in AI-powered cloud data management, for $8 billion.
In an expert interview sourced from the AlphaSense platform, a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft believes the acquisition will advance Salesforce’s AI capabilities on the whole:
“Salesforce can actually start upselling Informatica to all the enterprise customers who need these scalable integration platforms for their sales, marketing and services life and also brings in a very closer integration to their, I believe, data management solutions into the Salesforce Cloud by bringing in more closer integration and then bringing overall AI strategy, if you have to put it this way, in a more concrete, actionable steps for them.”
– Senior Product Manager at Microsoft | Expert Transcript
Alphabet to Acquire Wiz for $32 billion
Alphabet announced in March an agreement to purchase Wiz, a cybersecurity company, in an all-cash deal that is its largest acquisition to date and aims to boost cloud security.
AMD Acquires Enosemi
AMD acquired Enosemi, a silicon photonics startup, for an undisclosed amount in May 2025. The acquisition will position AMD to “scale and develop photonics and co-packaged optics solutions” across AI systems.
Financial Services & Banking
According to documents sourced from the AlphaSense platform, 34 bank deals worth $1.61 billion were announced in Q1 2025, the highest first-quarter total since 2021. This reflects a 29% increase in deal value year-over-year.
Two large deals exceeding $10 billion were announced in March and April. Larger deals have prevailed as a result of higher interest rates, regional consolidation, and pursuit of economies of scale. An example of this is Old National Bancorp formally completing its acquisition of Bremer Financial Corporation for $1.4 billion in May.
Related Reading: Largest Banks by Market Cap
Industrials
Deals across the industrials sector point to consolidation trends:
Nippon Steel Corporation
Nippon Steel Corporation’s acquisition of United States Steel Corporation formally closed in June for $14.8 billion, with the U.S. government maintaining extensive control over the company.
QXO (QXO) acquired Beacon Roofing Supply for $11 billion in April 2025
QXO, a building products distribution company, acquired Beacon Roofing Supply for $11 billion in April 2025. It has now set its sights on GMS, a specialty building product distributor. In June, both QXO and Home Depot submitted competing $5 billion bids for GMS.
Expert and analyst insights from the AlphaSense platform indicate the building materials industry is increasingly experiencing consolidation trends, and believe recent acquisitions by Home Depot and QXO are “only the beginning” in a push to consolidate distribution entities.
Healthcare
Deal activity has been slow to gain momentum across healthcare for 2025, however it is expected that companies will pen deals that fill strategic pipeline gaps:
- In late June, AbbVie announced it would acquire Capstan for $2.1 billion, adding a “high-risk, high-reward” clinical-stage in vivo CAR-T asset to its pipeline.
Additional Reading: Top IPOs to Watch in 2025
Deal Intelligence at your Fingertips
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