In the annals of European ECM history, 2025 will likely be remembered as a year when private equity firms and large corporates were able to ride bullish markets to price big secondary deals.

Accelerated secondary and primary follow-on deals was where European ECM really came to the fore in 2025, showing a depth of investor capital willing to help sponsors monetise listed holdings or fund ambitious corporate growth.

There was USD 87.8bn of European accelerated bookbuild (ABB) activity in 2025 as of 11 December, the fourth best year in the last decade, behind 2017 and the outlier pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

However, that volume came across just 424 deals, translating to an average deal size of around USD 201m – exceeding 2021’s average deal size of USD 157m, based off volumes of USD 103.96bn from 662 deals.

The average deal size is far closer to levels seen in the early 2010s, when sources say European equity capital markets were far deeper with larger participation from a broader range of global investors.

Source: Dealogic

In fact, it’s quite likely that European equity capital markets have not had so broad an investor base since that time.

Market participants have said throughout 2025 that there are 80-100 funds with active ECM strategies in Europe, by far the deepest pool of investment for European equity capital markets in a decade.

ECM Pulse noted and tracked this dynamic over the year, clocking that several US investors who sat out European ECM for over a decade were back in the game.

This allowed several huge ABBs to be priced in 2025. These included a EUR 5bn primary placement from Spain’s Iberdrola, alongside several multi-billion-dollar secondary disposals in Galderma, Ferrari, Haleon, Novartis and Naturgy, among others.

Out of the top ten largest global accelerated deals in 2025, four have been priced on European exchanges, alongside four US deals and two in APAC – a sea change from when Europe rarely saw a mega-block.

Deal flows this year have also been resilient, with several large blocks priced, and executed well, on days and weeks where global stock markets were in the red, showing that on any given day investors were there to play in names they cared about, especially if from a trusted vendor.

Europe – pasture for reluctant bulls

This year has been a strange bull market with the buyside having to be fully invested in the market, for performance reasons, despite a widespread belief that valuations are toppy and unsustainable.

Investors speaking to this column throughout the year noted that in this environment, when benchmark indices, and perceived risks, are high, accelerated bookbuilds are a way for investors to bank quick alpha in a highly liquid name that is easy to model. The liquidity in the names also mean that investors can get out fast if markets turn.

Global investors have also sought greater exposure to Europe to diversify away from overexposure to large-cap US tech, with accelerated trades providing funds with a chance to obtain a sizeable position in European companies.

The trend is likely to continue through to next year.

At the beginning of September, Wall Street veteran analyst Ed Yardani recommended underinvesting in the Magnificent Seven technology stocks against the rest of the S&P 500.

Yardani is the latest analyst urging investors to diversify their holdings away from mega-cap US tech, and a late year sell-off in the Nasdaq suggests that investors are beginning to monetise gains around the Magnificent Seven.

The Nasdaq 100 is around 3.5% below its October high as of 15 December, while the Stoxx Europe 600 has risen by around 1% over the same period and the more traditional non-tech heavy US Dow Jones Index is up by around 2%.

This demand for European and non-mega-cap tech names is likely to be an enduring theme into 2026, meaning private equity can sell large volumes of European listed holdings to investors seeking to continue to diversify, meaning more returns for their LPs.

For non-listed assets however, the key will be to get on stock exchanges first, which might mean having to stomach a slightly lower valuation at IPO to get the asset listed in the first place.

Several large deals are set for market next year, including the London IPOs of Visma and IVC Evidensia, with defence business Czechoslovak Group (CSG) likely to be one of the first out the gate in 2026, potentially followed by fellow defence business KNDS later in the year.

With European defence one of the hottest non-AI trends in global equities, those deals should play strongly to portfolio diversification.

There might also be a Frankfurt debut for Mobile.DE, should a listing prove more attractive than a sale for sponsors Blackstone and Permira.

If the appetite for European blocks translates through to IPOs, then it could be a fantastic year for EMEA listings, led by Europe.

And once a stock is listed, sponsors can start to place huge volumes in Europe, as some of the mega sell-downs this year have shown.

The huge quantum of demand for European ECM means that regardless of general market flows next year, sellers of large equity stakes can be assured of a constructive, even if not completely happy, New Year.