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22 May, 2026
Beyond words goes here
Jonathan Simmons
Director, Davy Corporate Finance
John Currie
Manager
The first quarter of 2026 marked a good start to the year for Irish deal activity, the Irish M&A Market Review from Davy Corporate Finance reveals, with 126 deals announced in Q1’26, up from 111 deals in Q1’25 and 117 in Q4’25.
Ireland again outperformed global trends in the latest quarter, with global M&A deal volumes falling by c.12% year-on-year. However, global deal values demonstrated resilience, increasing by c.16% to €583bn, driven by a surge in large and mega-scale transactions, including a record 22 deals exceeding $10bn. Irish deal value was also strong, with €1.43bn of disclosed transactions in Q1’26, double the level recorded in Q1’25, although this increase was partly driven by a higher proportion of transactions disclosing value. Activity in Q1 was led by Professional & Technical, Financial Services, Tech & Telecoms and Industrial sectors, with notable transactions including Permira’s investment in Carne Global Financial Services and Zurich Insurance Group’s acquisition of Redclick.
The largest transaction by value in Q1’26 was UK private equity firm Permira’s acquisition of a c.25% interest in Carne Global Financial Services, for a reported €350m.
Other notable transactions included Zurich Insurance Group’s acquisition of Redclick for c.€337m, and US based Haemonetics’ acquisition of Vivasure Medical for c.€185m.
The most active sectors by transaction volume in Q1’26 were Professional & Technical, with 28 transactions, followed by Financial Services and Tech & Telecoms, both recording 17 deals, and Industrials, which saw 15 transactions during the quarter. Professional & Technical remained the largest sector by share, reflecting continued consolidation trends. Sectors which experienced a decline in volumes in Q1’26 included Media & Publishing and Consumer.
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Q1’26 global M&A activity reported a c.16% increase in deal value to c.€583bn, compared with c.€401bn in Q1’25, despite a year-on-year decline in deal volume of c.12% in the same period. Similar to Q1’25, which was marked by volatility arising from U.S. trade policy uncertainty that prompted many corporates and private equity firms to reassess M&A plans, Q1’26 was also characterised by heightened geopolitical disruption.
The escalation of the Middle East conflict in late February triggered a significant oil-supply disruption. The more pronounced impacts are likely to emerge as we move into Q2’26, particularly if persistently higher energy costs and inflationary pressures begin to weigh on transaction momentum.
Global deal making proved its resilience yet again in Q1’26, despite the heightened geopolitical turmoil, with 22 mega-deals (> $10bn) announced, a quarterly record. While overall deal volumes declined year on year, larger transactions dominated, with AI and Big Tech acting as the primary catalysts.
North America remained the dominant M&A market by value, benefiting from Big Tech, AI-driven transactions, banking and sponsor activity, while cross-border M&A reached record levels.
The US accounted for over half of cross-border deal value, followed by the UK, with a standout Europe-linked transaction being McCormick’s acquisition of Unilever’s UK food business, creating a c.$65bn global food group.
Warning: This communication has been prepared and issued by Davy on the basis ofpublicly available information, internally developed data and other sources believed to be reliable. While all reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this communication, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein. Any opinion expressed may be subject to change without notice.
Warning: This communication is a marketing communication prepared by a member of Davy Corporate Finance and is not investment research. This communication is not an offer to engage in transactions in specific financial instruments: does not constitute investment advice, does not constitute a personal recommendation and has been prepared without regards to the individual financial circumstances, needs or objectives of individual investors. This communication is provided for the sole benefit of clients of Davy Group and may not be reproduced, redistributed or transmitted, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Davy Group. Any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. This communication is directed to clients and prospective clients that are categorised as eligible counterparties or professional clients within the meaning of Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments (MiFID II).
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