U.S. & Canada Overview
In the first half of 2025, the M&A landscape reflected a selective environment as overall deal count contracted 9% YoY, on pace to end 2025 at approximately 15,480 total transactions. Despite the decline, performance remains robust on a historical basis, with the overall deal count on track to exceed the 2015-2019 pre-pandemic average of 14,427 deals by 7%. Private equity investors emerged as the standout performer, registering a 6% uptick YoY in the U.S., driven by growth in bolt-on acquisitions that accounted for nearly 76% of all PE deals. Valuations remained disciplined, with the median Enterprise Value/EBITDA multiple holding steady at 11.0x. Notably, aggregate reported transaction value of $1.0T was up 77% compared to H1 2024, catalyzed by 20 deals each exceeding $10B in value that added a cumulative $385B in transaction value.