Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are expected to sustain their momentum in 2026 after rising 40 percent to $4.9 trillion in 2025—the second-highest deal value on record—according to Bain & Company’s annual Global M&A Report 2026.
Bain’s survey of 300 M&A executives found that 80 percent expect to sustain or increase deal activity in 2026. The environment is favorable, supported by improving macroeconomic conditions and a growing backlog of private equity and venture capital assets ready for exit. Leaders across industries also recognize that many traditional business models have reached the limits of their historical growth engines.
“The ingredients are in place for another robust year in M&A following last year’s near-record rebound,” said Suzanne Kumar, executive vice president of Bain & Company’s global M&A and Divestitures practice. “Companies urgently need to reinvent themselves to get out ahead of the big forces of technology disruption, a post-globalization economy, and shifting profit pools. M&A will play a pivotal role in this reinvention in 2026.”
Forces shaping M&A in 2026
The impact of technology disruption, post-globalization, and shifting profit pools on businesses became impossible to ignore in 2025. In 2026, M&A will be a critical tool as companies shift from simply reacting to these forces to proactively reshaping strategy and portfolios around them, says Bain.
Technology disruption—including advancements in AI, robotics, and quantum computing—will also have profound implications for dealmaking this year. Almost half of all deals in the technology industry already have an AI angle, a trend expected to accelerate as industry players pursue assets for AI talent and capabilities. Among non-technology firms, deal activity will grow among companies seeking to build out technology-driven solutions.
Geopolitics and post-globalization will continue to shape M&A strategy in 2026 and beyond, particularly after tariff shocks in 2025 drove a deeper understanding of how fragmentation will reshape flows of goods, capital, intellectual property, and labor. Companies will make bolder moves to double down on certain parts of their global footprint while minimizing exposure to less favorable regions. M&A and divestitures will be essential to rapidly execute that realignment.
Artificial intelligence in M&A
Bain’s survey found that 45 percent of executives used artificial intelligence (AI) tools in M&A in 2025, more than double the prior year. About one-third of dealmakers are systematically using AI in M&A or redesigning processes around it, and more than half expect AI to significantly impact how deals are executed.
Bain finds that leading companies are using AI in five ways to extract more value from M&A: dynamic pipelines, enhanced accuracy in outside-in intelligence, a faster path to greater synergies, reduced integration preparation work, and earlier and deeper stakeholder insights.
“AI is quickly becoming indispensable to M&A,” added Kumar. “Early adopters are gaining a concrete advantage when it comes to dealmaking. Leading companies are now using AI to create value across the deal cycle – including later stages like transaction execution, integration, and learning.”
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