March 12, 2025
M&A Trends: Dealmaking Off to a Slow Start
There was a lot of optimism among dealmakers heading into 2025, but according to reports from last week’s Tulane Corporate Law Institute the chaotic first six weeks of the Trump administration appear to have put a damper on things. Here’s an excerpt from a U.S. News article:
Attendees described a current chill on dealmaking, attributing it to a lack of predictability coming from Washington. M&A activity in the U.S. during the first two months of this year was the slowest in more than two decades, with only 1,172 deals worth $226.8 billion through Friday, according to data compiled by Dealogic. That was down by about a third from the same time last year by both volume and size and the slowest open by volume since 2003.
Jennifer Muller, managing director and co-head of investment bank Houlihan Lokey’s board advisory and opinions practice, said that a few months ago, consensus estimates pegged M&A deal volume in 2025 at $3.5 trillion versus $3 trillion last year.
“Given the rocky start, that may be harder to achieve. And in this case, when I say may, I actually mean will,” Muller said during a panel.
The article says that dealmakers remain optimistic about M&A activity for the rest of the year. As for me, well, the horse is loose in the hospital again, so I guess I’m inclined to temper my enthusiasm until I see how the DC “tariff-o-rama” and “Musk-a-thon” play out. But I can’t blame the Tulane crowd for wanting to sound positive. After all, as Arthur Miller put it in Death of a Salesman, “A salesman is got to dream boy, it comes with the territory.”
– John Jenkins