But beyond headline-grabbing transactions, actual deal-flow has been flat — a sign that barriers linked to trade and geopolitics remain in place. “Companies have wanted to be aggressive in M&A but the uncertainty and regulatory environment were real headwinds,” said Tom Miles, global co-head of M&A at Morgan Stanley. M&A advisers point to a range of persistent challenges for smaller companies, including macroeconomic volatility, political instability and a sluggish rate of interest rate cuts. This, she said, would force private equity firms to get creative on the sale of assets. “There are close to 1,000 companies worth more than 1 billion [euros] valuation with average private equity ownership above six years,” Méchain said.