New Delhi: Despite the various challenges faced during the year, the share markets will remember this year as the year of IPOs for India. Even though the immense popularity has been based on the promise of growth, there has been another global development that defined the year.
Global Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity has surged sharply in 2025, with almost $4.8 trillion worth of deals witnessed, one of the strongest on record. Driven by technology, industrial and energy deals, this rebound has signalled renewed confidence amongst companies and investors, despite the concerns over the sustained demand in the market.
With its promise of boosting efficiency, costs and speed, Artificial Intelligence (AI) led M&A transactions dominated the year, increasing by about 40% from 2024. The biggest acquisitions were Alphabet (Google’s) acquisition of cloud security/AI company Wiz for $32 billion in March 2025 and Facebook parent Meta’s $14.8 billion controlling stake acquisition of Scale AI in June.
For India, the largest deals this year were Tata Motors’s July acquisition of Italian truck brand Iveco and Bajaj’s buyback of German company Allianz’s stakes in their insurance JVs in March. According to a Bain & Co report, 2025 saw the second most acquisitions on record, with major deals being signed by companies based in North America, Asia and Europe.
“The current cycle will be defined by strategic repositioning and building for scale–and extraordinary ambition is accelerating the pace of these moves.” Stephan Feldgoise, Global Head of M&A at Goldman Sachs, said.
