After a turbulent spring, a surge in megadeals and a growing appetite for strategic repositioning boosted M&A activity in the third quarter, giving dealmakers hope of a strong finish to 2025.

Global M&A volume rose 32% year-over-year to USD 3.4tn in the first nine months of 2025, the highest level since record-setting 2021. “It feels like we’ve been on a local train that starts and stops in a lot of places,” said Mahvesh Qureshi, head of Hogan Lovells’ corporate and finance practice group for the Americas. “My cautious optimism for 4Q25 is that we are now on a bullet train that will take us rapidly onwards.”

Corporates have been pursuing transformative transactions and divestitures to streamline operations and unlock capital. Meanwhile, private equity sponsors, under pressure to deploy capital before commitments expire, are re-entering the fray and filling the auction pipeline heading into Q4.