Confidence in a changing global market: 2025 dealmaking themes and 2026 market opportunities

As boards, investors and founders look to the year ahead, central themes for 2026 include the cross-border deals rebound, AI driving global technology transactions, the acceleration of global healthcare activity, energy transition-related activity and US dealmaking in Europe – market dynamics identified by Osborne Clarke in its annual report on the international deals market.

Uncertainty and turbulence

Overall, market conditions last year were characterised by policy uncertainty and tariff turbulence, prompting cautious cross-border deal execution, while geopolitical tensions drove venture capital towards defence technology and a renewed focus on energy security and healthcare supply-chain resilience.

Financing conditions improved selectively. Traditional lending eased while private credit became mainstream, particularly for platform consolidation and growth-stage technology companies.

Capital markets showed meaningful recovery, with initial public offering (IPO) windows reopening and cross-border listings reaching two-decade highs. Technology companies driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and its growth narratives led the global IPO revival.

Rebound after cautious start

International dealmaking rebounded strongly after a cautious first quarter. Global merger and acquisition (M&A) deal values increased while volumes decreased, indicating a shift towards larger transactions, with US buyers remaining the largest inbound investors into Europe and the UK.

AI reshaped capital allocation across sectors, with technology M&A experiencing double-digit deal value growth and venture capital mega-rounds for AI-related companies absorbing nearly half of global venture funding by the third quarter.

Quality first

The flight to quality intensified. Dealmakers focused on thematic investing including technological disruption, climate change and supply chain resilience, with healthcare and life sciences momentum strengthening and energy transition platform consolidation surging.

Elevated uncertainty became structural rather than cyclical in 2025, requiring continuous scenario planning and flexible structures. Meanwhile, talent acquisition became a transaction imperative, with retention packages and employment-linked consideration becoming standard, particularly for AI, defence technology, cybersecurity and biotech expertise. 

Osborne Clarke comment

For investors, the outlook for 2026 suggests a continuation of these themes with likely opportunities in AI-enabled businesses, healthcare innovation and energy transition platforms, while policy and geopolitical uncertainties persist and the global deal environment remains complex.

Click below and read our report that examines pivotal themes that shaped Osborne Clarke's dealmaking activity in 2025 as well as the international market and explores how these trends will continue to influence transaction strategy in the year ahead.