Cross-Border M&A Finds Its Footing in 2025
December 9, 2025
“U.S.–Germany M&A Emerges as 2025 Standout.”
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Cross-border M&A has quietly regained momentum, and 2025 is shaping up as the first genuine recovery year rather than a short-term bounce.
According to a Reuters summary of Boston Consulting Group’s 2025 M&A report, global deal value in the first nine months of this year rose roughly 10% compared with 2024, driven largely by renewed activity in North America. BCG’s analysis noted that seasoned dealmakers are again using acquisitions as a strategic tool — focusing less on market timing and more on long-term capability building during a volatile economic period.
That rebound has not been evenly distributed, but Europe’s largest economy is becoming a focal point again. While total European M&A activity remained soft, BCG said that Germany showed relative stability in 2025, even as Europe overall was slightly down. The report’s regional commentary pointed out that German deal value held up far better than deal volume, reflecting a trend toward larger, strategically important transactions rather than broad-based buying. In plain English: buyers are picking their spots in Europe, and Germany is once again viewed as a safe, predictable jurisdiction for capital deployment.
Much of that capital is flowing across the Atlantic.
According to deal attorneys and investment bankers quoted in multiple industry updates this fall, U.S.–Germany transactions have become a standout category in 2025 deal pipelines. Professionals interviewed by Reuters and other financial outlets described a “return of confidence” among cross-border buyers — especially in industrial technology, energy transition services, specialty manufacturing, and pharmaceutical assets. Corporations aren’t chasing splashy consolidation deals; they are looking for defensible niches and durable revenue, often using North American balance sheets to acquire German engineering or scientific expertise.
For subscribers of this newsletter — particularly business owners and international entrepreneurs — the takeaway is straightforward: transatlantic M&A has hit its stride again. The window has reopened for U.S. companies looking to secure European footholds and for German firms seeking strategic partners in the U.S. Success still depends on fundamentals: thoughtful valuation, regulatory awareness on both sides of the ocean, and realistic post-merger integration plans that respect cultural differences. But after two slower years, the data suggests 2025 is a year when disciplined cross-border dealmaking is not only possible — it’s working.
