For Global M&A, Third Quarter Was One of the Best–and Worst –in Recent History

['Dawn Kopecki', 'Charlie Conchie', 'Kane Wu', 'More Author', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img'] Insurance Journal 2025-10-01 00:00:00

For dealmakers across the world, the third quarter was one of the best and one of the worst in recent history. But a paltry 8,912 deals were signed, down 16% from last year, the worst third-quarter for deal volume in 20 years, data show. “The second quarter was lining up to be quite exciting, and then Liberation Day happened right at the beginning. Just about anything tied to AI was hot in M&A and IPOs, whether it was software companies, infrastructure or chips. Monday’s $55 billion leveraged buyout of videogame maker Electronic Arts is the most recent mega deal of the quarter, but that wasn’t even the biggest one.