Goldman Sachs Reclaimed Top M&A Spot in 2025
Goldman Sachs was the top M&A advisory firm in 2025, executing a record volume of deals across TMT, Financial Sponsors, and FIG. The bank's success is attributed to its management of complex, multi-bidder processes and cross-border transactions. This marks a return to the top of the league tables for the firm.
- Globally, Goldman Sachs advised on M&A deals worth $1.66 trillion in 2025, securing a 36.4% market share. The bank's M&A advisory fees for the year totaled $4.6 billion, placing it ahead of competitors JPMorgan ($3.1 billion) and Morgan Stanley ($3 billion). - The year was characterized by a surge in "mega-deals" (transactions over $10 billion), with a record 70 such deals globally. Goldman Sachs advised on 40 of these mega-deals, more than any other bank. - A key transaction for the firm was its sell-side advisory role for video game company Electronic Arts in its pending $56.6 billion sale to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which stands as the largest leveraged buyout (LBO) of all time. - In the rankings for advising on private equity exits, Goldman Sachs also secured the top spot by deal volume, advising on $245.3 billion worth of transactions across 62 deals. - While dominant overall, in the Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) sector specifically, Goldman advised on deals totaling $237.2 billion. This placed them behind JPMorgan, which led the sector with $435.5 billion in advised deal value. - The M&A market in 2025 saw total global dealmaking volume reach $5.1 trillion. This active environment was partly attributed to a perceived easing of antitrust enforcement, which encouraged large-scale corporate mergers. - Competitor JPMorgan secured the second position in the global league tables with $1.44 trillion in deal volume, advising on 32 mega-deals. Morgan Stanley ranked third, with $1.17 trillion in volume across 24 mega-deals.
