Transaction Driver: EMEA Fiscal Year 2025

Foreword: Deal value pusheshigher amid trade tantrums Rude awakening But 2026 brought a rude awakening. A dispute over Greenland’ssovereignty reignited the threat of US tariff pressure, fueling volatilityin markets and causing the European Parliament to pause furthertariff relief. Projecting future earnings and valuing assets becomemore challenging when tariffs fluctuate or are weaponized for political 2025 was full of surprises. US trade policy caught European companiesand investors off-guard early on, but a pact reached in August smoothedover relations. At its core, the agreement established a 15% tariff ceilingon most EU exports to the US – an important retreat from the sharply A NATO-backed framework announced in January expanding US strategicaccess in the Arctic helped cool immediate tensions, reducing fears offresh tariff action. But for dealmakers, the episode reinforced how quickly This targeted relief showed a commitment to critical supply chains onboth sides of the Atlantic. The economic repercussions for Europe arenuanced. Short-term projections suggest the EU’s GDP growth willtake a half-percentage-point hit in 2026, with manufacturing-intensive Outlook:EMEA heat chart EMEA’s forward-looking M&A pipeline is deep with 2,258 ‘for sale’ stories,and is notably multipolar. DACH (407) and the UK & Ireland (377) sit atthe top, with Türkiye, Middle East & Africa (360) and Central & Eastern The single largest contributor among sectors is TMT (497 stories),where operators are targeting assets to manage spectrum costsand stabilize returns after years of heavy investment. Unlike the US,where TMT M&A is increasingly shaped by AI competition, Europe’stech dealmaking has been less AI-centric. Instead, activity is playing The pipeline also points to a robust supply of industrial activity.Potential industrials & chemicals (I&C) sector deals (350) are weightedto DACH (98), a skew that fits with Europe’s push to reinforce strategic Portfolio reset The consumer sector is showing signs of delivering, too, with 301‘for sale’ stories that are evenly distributed across EMEA. Cost-of-living pressures continue to shape behavior, keeping retail volume That momentum is being underpinned by more interventionistpolicy. The Clean Industrial Deal, announced in February 2025, aimsto modernize European manufacturing by pairing decarbonizationwith competitiveness, while the European Chips Act is channeling Portfolio reshaping is adding momentum. Consumer-facing companiesare increasingly divesting slower-growth or non-core businesses tosharpen focus and simplify operating models, often structuring thesedisposals as spin-offs to existing shareholders or carve-outs to privateequity who can bring a new lease of life to standalone assets. The wave Summary: M&A booms atthe top end of the market EMEA dealmaking in 2025 was not a broad risk-on revivalso much as a display of selective conviction. On its surface,it was a standout year. The market is rewarding clarity ofrationale over financial engineering: divestitures, carve-outs, and strategic combinations proved easier to execute This meant EMEA M&A beat the same path as the global market,with aggregate deal value surging by 24.5% year-on-year to almost€1.2tn. This was achieved despite the number of transactions TMT trending Most of EMEA’s very largest deals were TMT-related, pushingaggregate value in the sector to €252.1bn, an increase of 23.3% year-on-year, as capital continued to concentrate around cybersecurityand digital connectivity assets. TMT also led in volume terms with3,872 transactions announced, though this did represent a 9.7% In private equity, sponsors demonstrated the same divergence as theircorporate peers, minting fewer transactions but paying materially largersums, while the mid-market lagged. Buyout volumes fell to 3,165 deals AI ID In a major strategic move, Palo Alto Networks agreed to acquireCyberArk Software for €21.3bn, marking one of the largest cybersecuritydeals of 2025 globally. The transaction brings CyberArk’s identity and In the consumer space, Keurig Dr Pepper launched an all-cash offer forJDE Peet’s, valued at about €19.7bn. The deal brings together Keurig’sUS beverage business with one of the world’s largest coffee portfolios Europe’s telecoms market saw a potential consolidation move afterOrange, Bouygues, and Iliad made a €17bn non-binding proposal toacquire most of Altice France’s assets. The proposed carve-up would EMEA PE buyouts EMEA PE exits Based on announced buyouts, excluding those that lapsed or were withdrawn,where the dominant location of the target is in Europe. Based on announced exits, excluding those that lapsed or were withdrawn,where the dominant location of the target is in Europe. EMEA league tables EMEA league tables–mid-market EMEA league tables–PR advisors EMEA league tables–PE advisors Consumer Consumer sentiment across EMEA remained broadly cautious throughout2025, with no region showing a dec