Europe M&A by the Numbers: Q1 2026

The European M&A market declined year over year in both deal value and deal count. Deal values dropped from $154.4B to $141.5B, while deal volume fell from 3,514 to 2,317, marking -8% and -34% decreases in activity. At a sector level, Financials and Communication Services maintained their momentum from Q4 2025 despite deal counts dropping from 262 to 214 and from 241 to 167, respectively. At a country level, the UK’s deal value was 7x higher than that of the second-highest destination in Europe, underscoring continued interest in the UK relative to the rest of Europe. 4 of the Top 10 deals announced in the quarter were UK Financials deals, led by Nuveen LLC's acquisition of Schroders, valued at $12.9B.