Asia-Pacific (APAC) deal activity experienced a year-on-year (YoY) decline of around 12% in the first half (H1) of 2026 as sharp declines in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity (PE) outweighed modest growth in venture financing. Uneven performance across major markets also highlights diverging deal momentum, with investors and strategic buyers becoming increasingly selective in response to the prevailing market conditions, says GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The overall trend signals a more cautious environment across the region, with investors prioritizing selective growth themes while strategic buyers reassess valuation and strategic fit.”
An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that the total number of M&A and PE deals announced in APAC YoY fell by around 25% and 27%, respectively, in H1 2026. It is noteworthy that M&A accounted for more than half of the total number of deals announced in the region during H1 2025. On the other hand, the number of venture financing deals experienced an increase of 5% YoY.
Bose adds: “Venture financing was the only deal type to post growth, indicating that some promising startups continued to attract capital despite macro uncertainty. This suggests sustained appetite for innovation-led segments and scalable business models, even as late-stage transactions faced more scrutiny.
“Meanwhile, the contraction in M&A activity points to slower board-level decision-making and the decline in private equity underscores similar pressures, including longer diligence cycles and macro uncertainty, which collectively have reduced willingness to pursue new buyouts.”
Country-level performance was uneven, highlighting a bifurcated APAC landscape. China emerged as a key stabilizer, recording 7% growth, suggesting improving deal momentum in select sectors. India also remained resilient with a 1% increase, reflecting steady domestic activity and continued investor interest, though the pace of expansion was muted – consistent with a market transitioning from exuberant growth to more disciplined deal-making.
Meanwhile, several major markets saw pronounced contractions. For instance, the total number of deals announced in Japan, Australia, South Korea and Singapore fell by 40%, 17%, 22% and 16% in H1 2026, respectively.
Bose concludes: “Venture financing is likely to remain comparatively resilient as investors continue backing promising startups, while broader deal activity will depend on improving confidence among strategic buyers and PE firms. A sustained recovery is expected only when market conditions support faster decision-making and greater transaction certainty.”
Note: Historic data may change in case some deals get added to previous months because of a delay in disclosure of information in the public domain.
