2025 M&A Success Survey Report
About the survey:
Précis: GPMIP M&A Success Survey 2025
The 2025 M&A Success Survey, backed by Global PMI Partners and key industry collaborators, highlights persistent challenges in the M&A landscape amid economic uncertainty, elevated financing costs, and PE sector caution. Despite recent subdued activity, 70% of respondents rated their latest deals as successful or very successful.
Key Findings:
- Top Deal Rationales: Market share expansion, value enhancement, and product/service addition were most cited; for smaller firms, acquiring skills and expertise was paramount.
- Carve-Outs: Predominantly driven by divestment of strategically non-core businesses.
- Synergy Management: 92% of deals where synergies were validated and tracked were successful—underscoring structured post-deal execution as critical.
- Integration Planning: Emphasis on early integration blueprinting and Day 1 readiness. Most integrations extend beyond 7 months.
- Due Diligence Priorities: Finance, HR, and Legal lead, with rising focus on Tech and Operations. Integration planning is increasingly included pre-deal.
- Technology Usage: Virtual Data Rooms (VDRs) are dominant, followed by Post-Merger Integration (PMI) software. AI adoption remains limited but emerging.
- M&A Playbooks: Only 40% use structured playbooks—raising concerns over repeatability and execution risk.
- Cost Management: While recognized as a strategic lever, 20% of firms deprioritize it. Early, structured cost analysis is recommended for value realization.
Insights:
- Integration complexity stems from cross-border dynamics, cultural friction, and multiple business lines.
- Roll-up strategies require clear operating model choices (centralized vs. decentralized).
- Strong communication and early alignment between acquirer and target are vital for integration success.
- M&A capability building remains uneven, with reliance on external consultants and targeted training.
Conclusion: M&A success hinges on disciplined planning, robust execution, and an evolving use of digital tools. Firms are advised to institutionalize best practices, track synergies rigorously, and adopt a proactive stance on cost and cultural integration.
We truly appreciate you investing your time to read the 2025 M&A Success Survey. Your interest in driving better deal outcomes is what inspires us to keep pushing the conversation forward.
If you’d like to explore how these insights apply to your unique M&A challenges, we’d be delighted to continue the conversation.
