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Persistent macroeconomic uncertainty, elevated financing costs, and geopolitical headwinds continued to weigh on dealmaking activity, resulting in a 4% year-on-year (YoY) decline in the total number of deals (comprising mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity, and venture capital (VC)) announced globally during January–August 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, according to GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
An analysis of GlobalData's Financial Deals Database reveals varied momentum across different deal types. The total number of M&A deals announced globally fell 6% YoY during January–August 2026, driving the overall global contraction. In contrast, venture financing activity remained flat, reflecting sustained appetite for funding in high-potential sectors. Meanwhile, private equity deal volume recorded an increase of 4% YoY.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: "Dealmakers globally have adopted a cautious, highly selective stance in 2026. While macroeconomic uncertainty and valuation misalignments have dampened M&A activity, private equity investors stepped in to capitalize on attractive entry valuations, and venture funding has also exhibited notable stability. Moreover, the sharp divergence across geographies highlights how domestic economic fundamentals and regulatory environments are driving local deal activity."
Geographically, North America emerged as the sole bright spot among the major regions, posting modest YoY growth of 0.8% in deal volume. Conversely, all other regions experienced contractions during January–August 2026. Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America registered declines of 8%, 5%, 1% and 13%, respectively.
At the country level, dealmaking sentiment was largely subdued across most markets. The UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, Australia, South Korea, France, Italy, Brazil, and the UAE saw deal volume fall by 4%, 33%, 7%, 5%, 17%, 5%, 7%, 1%, 20%, and 13% YoY, respectively, during January-August 2026.
However, several prominent markets bucked the downward trend. For instance, the US, which accounts for the largest share of global deal flow, posted a growth of 2% YoY, while China, the next biggest market for deal activity, witnessed 10% YoY rise. India, Spain, and Israel each recorded 3% YoY growth.
Bose concludes: "Although deal volumes remain constrained across most regions, resilient activity in key markets such as the US and China, coupled with stable VC funding activity, could support a selective recovery as conditions improve."
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.
