After a subdued M&A year in 2025, the market appeared to be recovering toward the end of the year. Will this trend continue? Here's how M&A experts view the transaction market. According to experts, one deal driver remains the much-discussed “dry powder” of private equity firms. “Just sitting on the money is not an option,” says Markus Käpplinger, partner at the law firm Goodwin, describing the situation of financial investors. From the lawyer's point of view, the prerequisite for more deals with private equity participation is: “Sufficient assets are coming onto the market – and sellers have reasonable price expectations,” Käpplinger summarizes. Another deal driver is the pressure to transform, which, according to Käpplinger, is leading corporations to sell off business areas that are no longer relevant.
“This is likely to bring further interesting assets into the market,” says Käpplinger.
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