Completed mergers and acquisitions valued at US$10 billion or more reached a record high in the first quarter of 2026, according to WTW's Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor, as M&A activity surged on eased financing conditions and a race to secure artificial intelligence capabilities.
The report found 12 mega deals closed between January and March. It is the highest quarterly total since tracking began in 2008, up from just two in the preceding quarter.
Total completed deal value hit US$438 billion, a five-year high and a 155% increase from Q1 2025. Fifty-six deals exceeding US$1 billion were completed, up from 40 a year earlier. Worldwide, 215 transactions above US$100 million closed during the period, a 32% rise and the fifth consecutive quarterly increase.
The figures mark a sharp reversal from late 2025. WTW's January report on full-year results showed Q4 acquirer performance had fallen to -13.9 percentage points against the MSCI World Index, the worst single quarter on record. Valuation expansion rather than earnings growth had driven much of the late-2025 equity rally, leaving acquirers exposed.
By Q1 2026, that had flipped. Companies completing acquisitions above US$100 million outperformed their index by +2.5 percentage points. WTW's December 2025 outlook had flagged pent-up demand, steady interest rates and over US$2 trillion in undeployed private equity capital as tailwinds heading into the new year.
European acquirers led regionally with +6.0 percentage points of outperformance across 40 deals. North American dealmakers underperformed by -5.4 percentage points across 117 completed transactions, though that was a marked improvement from Q4.
Asia-Pacific buyers trailed their regional index by -3.4 percentage points across 49 deals, while Chinese acquirers completed 21 transactions as activity continued recovering from 2024 lows.
Jana Mercereau (pictured above), WTW's head of Europe M&A consulting, said capitalised dealmakers had returned to pursue mergers aimed at scaling operations, closing capability gaps and securing AI-enabling technologies.
"Mega transactions have re-emerged with a vengeance," she said.
Wider data supports the thesis. Research from Morrison Foerster published earlier this year found technology M&A rose 66% year on year in 2025 to roughly US$1.08 trillion, driven by AI, data infrastructure and cybersecurity transactions.
A separate Samil PwC report noted approximately one-third of the 100 largest global deals announced last year cited AI as a key factor. PwC estimates between US$5 trillion and US$8 trillion will be needed over the next five years to finance AI infrastructure alone.
The Q1 results build on a strengthening baseline. WTW's full-year 2025 report, published in January, recorded 726 deals above US$100 million globally, with total completed value reaching US$933 billion. The acquirer performance gap had already narrowed to -0.5 percentage points from -10.9 percentage points the prior year.
Mercereau noted that healthy balance sheets had driven mergers close to record levels, but cautioned the Middle East conflict risked slowing momentum.
"Boardroom confidence remains strong, for the time being at least, as dealmakers normalise heightened geopolitical risk and appear resolved to ride through the bumps," she said.
