Price tags on biggest M&A deals grow larger in 2025

The number of M&A transactions valued at over $10 billion stayed flat year over year through the first half of 2025, but the aggregate value of the deals increased.

Sixteen global M&A deals were announced with transaction values of more than $10 billion during the first six months of the year, the same total as the first half of 2024. However, during the same periods, the combined value of the deals increased about 12.2% to $333.24 billion in 2025 from $297.12 billion in 2024.

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In June, two deal announcements topped $10 billion and both ranked among the 10 largest deals over the last 12 months. The second-largest deal was announced June 3 and involved forklift maker Toyota Industries Corp. going private through a transaction with an announced value of $43.92 billion.

Toyota Industries shareholders Toyota Fudosan Co. Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp. and Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda will purchase shares from other shareholders, including DENSO Corp., Aisin Corp. and Toyota Tsusho Corp., in an effort to streamline cross-shareholdings, according to a merger release.

Japanese regulators encouraged conglomerates to examine their reasoning for cross-shareholdings — ownership stakes in other companies that are meant to maintain business relationships as opposed to pure investments — in an effort to improve corporate governance. Investors were disappointed in the deal as shares of Toyota Industries dropped 12.5% from market close on June 3 to market open on June 4.

The only other $10 billion-plus deal in June was also a takeover bid involving a $23.86 billion transaction targeting Australian liquefied natural gas producer Santos Ltd. The bid came from Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Co. PJSC, XRG PJSC and The Carlyle Group Inc.

Santos' board reviewed the proposal and determined it is in Santos shareholders' best interest to share confidential data with Abu Dhabi Oil Co.'s subsidiary and investment arm, XRG Consortium, to begin confirmatory due diligence and negotiate the deal's terms and conditions.