Irish M&A Activity Shows Resilience Despite Global Volatility

(11 February, 2026) – 524 M&A deals were reported in Ireland last year, representing a 3% year-on-year increase in deal volume, according to William Fry LLP's M&A Review 2025.

However, aggregate deal value declined by 35% compared to the previous year, with a total value of €19.5bn. These latest findings will be announced today at the William Fry M&A Strategies: Insights, Challenges & Opportunities event.

Key findings in the report:

• Irish M&A transaction volume rose by 3% in 2025, despite subdued global conditions.
• Total transaction value fell by 35%, reflecting the absence of megadeals seen in prior years. The variance was largely skewed by the acquisition in 2024 by Apollo Global Management acquisition of a 49% stake in Intel Corp's Fab 34 facility for €10.1bn.
• Activity remained firmly mid-market focused, with 90% of disclosed deals valued between €5m and €250m.
• Inbound investment remained strong, with 59% of all Irish deals involving overseas bidders, led by US and UK acquirers.
• Private equity accounted for 19% of all M&A activity during the year.

Andrew McIntyre, Head of Corporate / M&A at William Fry said:

"Irish M&A showed clear resilience throughout 2025 despite a challenging global backdrop. Over the longer term, both deal value and volume exceeded seven of the past ten years, underlining Ireland's attractiveness as a jurisdiction of choice for M&A activity. Even as global M&A activity fell to its lowest level in two decades amid trade tensions and geopolitical conflict, inbound investment into Ireland remained robust."

Commenting on the outlook for M&A he noted that, "Despite ongoing uncertainty, the foundations for Irish M&A in 2026 are positive. Lower interest rates, strong relative economic growth and sectoral strengths in Energy, Pharma & Biotech and advanced technologies such as AI all support dealmaking.

While geopolitical risk and uncertainty around US trade policy remain key concerns, Irish assets continue to attract strategic and private equity interest. If global volatility begins to ease, we could see the Irish M&A pipeline open."

Deal Focus

Large-scale transactions continue to be the exception rather than the rule in Ireland, with M&A activity dominated by the mid-market. In 2025, there were 12 large-cap deals valued above €250m, down from 17 in 2024. Of these, nine exceeded €500m, although the value of several transactions was undisclosed. These deals were spread across six different sectors, highlighting the diversity of Irish M&A activity.

The largest transaction of the year was Ardian's €2.5bn acquisition of Energia Group, which supplies approximately 17% of Ireland's electricity, increasingly generated from renewable and low-carbon sources.

The second-largest deal was the acquisition of pharmaceutical company Avadel by Irish biopharma group Alkermes, valued at up to €2.2 billion. The third-largest transaction took place in financial services, with Dubai Aerospace Enterprise agreeing to acquire Nordic Aviation Capital for €1.9bn, expanding its aircraft fleet to approximately 750.

Sector watch

Energy, Mining & Utilities (EMU) was the largest sector by value in 2025, accounting for €4.84bn of transactions and a 25% share of total deal value. Alongside the Energia acquisition, the sector was boosted by the €1bn purchase of the 500MW Greenlink Interconnector by UK-based Equitix and Norway's Statkraft.

Pharma, Medical & Biotech (PMB) ranked as the second-largest sector by value. While the Avadel–Alkermes transaction was a major contributor, five of the top ten deals of the year also took place in this sector.

Ireland's commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions and other sustainability goals have, continued to shape M&A activity. In 2025, Lirion Power acquired a portfolio of six onshore wind assets for €156m from Schroders Greencoat, with further wind and solar asset sales progressing during the year.

By deal volume, business services was the busiest sector in 2025, ahead of TMT and financial services.

A standout trend was the sharp decline in TMT deal values. The sector accounted for just 9% of total Irish M&A deal value, compared with 56% in 2024.

Inbound activity

Irish businesses continue to attract strong international interest. There were 309 inbound deals for Irish companies last year, worth a combined €14bn. This represented a 9% increase in deal numbers, but a 47% decline in total value, as international investors focused increasingly on mid-market opportunities rather than large transformational acquisitions.

UK- and US-based buyers remained the most active by volume, accounting for over two-thirds of inbound transactions. However, France emerged as the leading country by value, with French acquirers completing ten deals in Ireland, including Ardian's €2.5bn acquisition of Energia Group, the largest transaction of the year.

Private Equity

Private equity remained a key driver of Irish M&A activity in 2025. The first half of the year marked the strongest period for Irish PE investment since the pandemic, reflecting sustained appetite despite increasingly challenging global conditions.

While activity moderated in the second half following the market impact of "Liberation Day," overall PE deal volumes still rose from 92 deals in 2024 to 100 in 2025, a 9% increase.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.