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Driven by political agendas, antitrust authorities in 2025 took a more permissive approach to merger control enforcement. For dealmakers this should mean clearer paths to approval, although looking ahead, continued geopolitical volatility and evolving national priorities add layers of unpredictability to the regulatory landscape.
A decline in deal mortality rates in 2025 was met with an increase in conditional merger control approvals. Antitrust authorities showed greater flexibility on remedies, with some demonstrating more openness to behavioral commitments and complex structural fixes.
Summary
This edition of our global report explores the trends and challenges shaping the merger control and foreign investment landscape and predicts what dealmakers should expect in the year ahead.
M&A in tech, life sciences, and consumer-facing sectors is under intense scrutiny—even where transactions fall below filing thresholds.
The foreign direct investment landscape remains unpredictable, with sectoral scope expanding as governments' concerns extend to economic security, domestic resilience, and critical technologies.
The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation creates challenges, but these may ease in future.
Deal timetables feel the impact of regulatory approval processes.
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