Deal Drivers: APAC provides an in-depth review of M&A activity in 2024 and an outlook for 2025.

H2 rally offers promise for 2025

Activity in 2024 has laid the foundation for a busy year ahead. Deal volume rose slightly year-on-year to 10,472, a 2.8% increase from 2023, indicating a steady pace of capital deployment. Deal value was up 7% over the same period to US$884bn, primarily driven by a strong second half, with Q3 and Q4 seeing substantial gains in higher-ticket transactions.

Country focus

Japan, China, and India solidified their positions as the top bidders in the APAC region in 2024. Japan led in volume terms with 3,359 deal announcements, an 8% year-on-year increase, yet aggregate deal value fell by 8.3% over the same period. China maintained its dominance in deal value, reaching US$280bn, a 7.8% increase from the prior year, supported by a select number of high-value transactions. However, Chinese bidders’ deal volume declined by 5.5% to 2,535 deals. India, meanwhile, showcased robust growth, with deal volume climbing to 868 transactions, an 8.5% increase, though aggregate deal value declined slightly year-on-year, by 4.3% to US$80.1bn.

Sector outlook

The industrials & chemicals (I&C) sector is projected to lead APAC M&A activity in 2025, with 327 ‘companies for sale’ stories as tracked by Mergermarket’s heat chart. Greater China dominates, with 199 I&C-related ‘for sale’ stories, driven by policies aimed at strengthening supply chains, decarbonization, and boosting advanced production capabilities.

Published in association with Datasite, Deal Drivers APAC provides an in-depth review of M&A activity in 2024 and an outlook for 2025.

The report is also available on datasite.com.