Inside the Strategy Room

242. Planning for the next wave of M&A

Mar 13, 2025

Jake Henry and Mieke Van Oostende, senior partners at McKinsey, delve into the M&A landscape, exploring anticipated trends for 2024-2025. They discuss how smaller transactions are on the rise, particularly in tech and finance, and the transformative impact of AI on deal strategies. The conversation highlights the importance of navigating geopolitical risks and the need for a solid cultural fit in acquisitions. They also address the evolving investment and divestment strategies shaping company portfolios amidst economic uncertainties.

45:46

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Episode guests

Mieke Van Oostende

Jake Henry

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

The M&A landscape shows a cautious optimism for 2025, driven by accumulated financial resources and the need for structural solutions.

AI is transforming M&A strategies by improving due diligence and integration processes, enabling firms to better evaluate potential acquisitions.

Deep dives

Current Trends in M&A Activity

The global M&A landscape experienced a slight recovery in 2024 with a 10% increase in deal-making compared to 2023. Despite this uptick, overall M&A activity remains relatively low compared to historical averages, particularly when normalized against market valuations. In the Americas, political election uncertainties delayed many transactions, resulting in some deals being postponed to early 2025. Meanwhile, Asia saw a shift in focus from traditional markets like China to countries such as Korea and Japan, driven by regulatory changes that encouraged new deal activity.

Intro

2min

M&A Trends and Projections for 2024-2025

12min

Trends in Investment and Divestment Strategies

2min

Navigating the M&A Landscape in 2023

18min

Navigating Geopolitical Risks in M&A Decisions

2min

Navigating Modern M&A Dynamics

8min

Engagement and Resources for Listeners

2min

This week we speak with the authors of our latest Annual M&A Report about trends in the deal landscape and what we might expect from 2025. Will the much-anticipated increase in transactions finally materialize? Or will players continue to hold onto their dry powder, waiting for the ongoing uncertainty that we’ve seen since the pandemic to settle down? McKinsey senior partners Mieke Van Oostende and Jake Henry co-lead our M&A practice, and in this episode, they share findings and observations from their latest report.

Related insights:

M&A Annual Report: Is the wave finally arriving?

Gen AI: Opportunities in M&A

How one approach to M&A is more likely to create value than all others

How lots of small M&A deals add up to big value

The seven habits of programmatic acquirers

How AI is transforming strategy development

McKinsey Insights on M&A

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