EY Signals A Tech-Led M&A Surge

December 5, 2025 – The most recent EY-Parthenon 2025 M&A analysis shows a market operating at full acceleration. U.S. deal value for transactions of $100 million or more hit $2.09 trillion through October – up 45 percent year-over-year – with deal volume rising just over 10 percent to 1,409 transactions.

EY notes that “from January to October, a major deal was announced every 4.6 hours,” underscoring the sheer pace of activity. Technology led all sectors with 446 deals valued at $658 billion, confirming its position as the backbone of U.S. dealmaking in 2025.

EY’s data captures one of the most striking rebounds in recent memory. The $2.09 trillion in M&A spending is enough “to give every person on Earth $254 in cash,” it noted, illustrating how aggressively buyers reentered the market.

What stands out most is the surge in cross-sector tech acquisition: non-tech buyers deployed $400 billion toward technology targets, surpassing the $285 billion spent by tech companies themselves.

Deal totals including undisclosed values show a similar pattern, with non-tech buyers executing 1,719 tech-related deals versus 1,316 for tech acquirers.

“This is the clearest sign yet that every company is now a technology company,” said Leo Cummings, an associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures. “Leadership teams are being forced to absorb new digital capabilities at a pace that outstrips traditional integration playbooks.”

Private Equity Returns With Conviction

For talent leaders, this means heightened demand for CIOs, CTOs, data executives, and transformation operators who can turn tech deals into operational advantage – quickly and sustainably.

Related: Mega-Deals Point To Shifting Priorities In M&A

Private equity dealmaking also surged, driven by better financing conditions and a pressing need to deploy dry powder. For deals above $100 million, PE deal value jumped 75 percent year-over-year. Technology again dominated, capturing 113 PE deals and $362.8 billion in value.

EY Says Big Deals Driving Record M&A Growth In U.S.

Deal momentum is accelerating into the final quarter of the year. With mega deals climbing and private equity reclaiming its dominance, 2025 is shaping up as one of the most active years for M&A since before the pandemic. Leo Cummings, an associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures, explores EY’s latest Merger Monthly report and what it signals about leadership, technology, and the next phase of U.S. dealmaking.

“PE firms are underwriting growth through leadership earlier in the investment cycle,” said Mr. Cummings. “They want executives who can execute a value-creation plan on day one.”

With competition intensifying across tech-enabled assets, search partners will see increasing demand for CEOs, CFOs, and operating leaders with proven experience in scale, integration, and digital transformation.

Divestiture Momentum Builds in Oil & Gas and Chemicals

While tech dominated acquisitions, the oil and gas, chemicals sector led corporate separations with 74 divestitures above $100 million – slightly ahead of technology’s 73 separations. EY notes that industrial companies are reshaping portfolios to sharpen strategic focus and redirect capital toward higher-growth opportunities.

“These carve-outs often create leadership vacuums that must be filled immediately,” said Mr. Cummings. “Standalone entities need operators who can build infrastructure from scratch, while parent companies must rethink leadership bandwidth and reporting structures.”

As a result, CFOs, COOs, and transformation leaders with carve-out experience will remain in high demand through 2026.

Tech Dominance Extends Across All Deal Dimensions

Whether measured by corporate M&A, private equity, megadeals, cross-border activity, or corporate separations, technology ranked first in nearly every category. EY recorded 29 tech megadeals above $5 billion, 103 cross-border technology transactions, and more than 2,200 total tech-related deals when including undisclosed values. Life sciences and oil & gas followed in most categories, but the gap in both value and volume widened significantly.

Related: The Big Bet Private Equity Just Placed On An Executive Search Firm

“Tech is no longer just a sector – it is the foundation of competitive strategy,” Mr. Cummings noted. “Companies are prioritizing executives who can lead through AI adoption, platform integration, and digital expansion. Those capabilities now define who wins in this market.”

Leadership teams with hybrid skill sets – technical fluency paired with operational experience – will be essential as companies absorb increasingly complex acquisitions.

Leadership Becomes the Critical Lever in a Reaccelerating Cycle

With EY-Parthenon advising on 80 percent of the year’s top 10 deals, the pace and complexity of 2025 M&A confirm a decisive shift: Capital is flowing, strategic confidence is returning, and the most aggressive buyers are acting now.

But the dividing line between successful and stalled integrations is becoming sharper.

“We are entering a period where the leadership bench will determine whether these massive deals actually deliver,” Mr. Cummings said.

As dealmaking accelerates, he said, the firms best positioned to benefit will be those that invest early in the executives who can navigate disruption, unlock synergies, and translate bold transactions into measurable value.

Reprinted from with permission from ExitUp!

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Co-CEO, Leo Cummings, Editor-in-Chief, ExitUp