2025 is a key year for strategic acquisitions and for any M&A strategy that aims to be more than just a transaction.
Whether in tech, industry, or sustainability, mergers and acquisitions are back on the agenda. But not as a quick fix for growth. Today, M&A is a long-term tool to secure market position, relevance, and the ability to innovate.
What used to be negotiated primarily through financial logic now reaches much deeper, into leadership, culture, communication, and how organisations are structured. That’s why effective M&A strategies in 2025 need more than numbers. They need clarity, a sense of purpose and the ability to manage and guide real change.
M&A is back, but it’s not like it used to be
According to PwC’s Global M&A Industry Trends 2025, deal activity has recovered in many sectors — especially in tech, healthcare, infrastructure, and the energy transition.
Morgan Stanley also notes that companies are using M&A to shift their strategic direction — for example, by streamlining their portfolios based on ESG goals, or by entering data-driven markets.
At the same time, the success rate remains sobering: Over 70% of deals fail to deliver the expected strategic value — as shown in Bain & Company’s most recent M&A study.
Why first-hand M&A experience changes the view
M&A is no simulation, you realise that the moment you’re directly involved. When my own company, ENVI-met, was sold to One Click LCA in 2024, I was right in the middle of an international deal in the sustainability sector. Video: Watch here
That experience changed how I look at M&A and made three key success factors clear:
- A precise definition of strategic fit: the clearer the objective, the greater the chance of success
- Transparent communication throughout: a real lever for reducing post-merger turnover
- Strategic leadership during integration: with clear responsibilities and a well-balanced dynamic
These practical lessons, drawn from direct experience, continue to shape my strategic consulting work today.
How company size affects M&A strategy
Large corporations often pursue transformative mega-deals. Innovative mid-sized firms tend to focus on precise acquisitions that strengthen their core business or bring in disruptive technology.
The challenges are very different:
- Corporates: Regulatory complexity and post-merger governance
- Mid-sized firms: Limited resources and cultural alignment
- Scale-ups: Retaining talent and integrating intellectual property
The international setting adds another layer: while European M&A processes are often shaped by stakeholder concerns, U.S. deals tend to prioritise shareholder value. In many Asian markets, long-term relationship-building often takes precedence over speed.
What will really shape M&A in 2025
Five developments show why M&A needs to be rethought:
- Cross-industry deals are becoming the norm.
More and more companies are buying outside their core sectors, tech meets construction, sustainability meets software. - Focus is more important than volume.
According to Deloitte, two-thirds of companies are going for smaller, more targeted acquisitions, easier to integrate, and sharper in terms of strategic fit. - Private equity remains a major force.
Even with rising interest rates, PE is still highly active, especially with buy-and-build strategies. - ESG is becoming a deal filter.
72% of companies now actively consider ESG criteria during due diligence. - Culture is still the most underestimated dealbreaker.
Studies by McKinsey and BCG show that when deals fail, it’s often not because of finance or structure, but because of cultural incompatibility.
What makes an M&A strategy successful
Anyone making acquisitions today needs more than capital and advisors. It’s about the ability to shape change, meaning to lead complexity, not just manage it.
What today’s successful M&A strategies have in common:
- They start with a clear strategic vision, not just a list of potential targets.
- They plan for integration from day one, not after contracts are signed.
- They use data-driven, AI-supported due diligence including for soft factors like culture and ESG.
- They embed sustainability into the logic of the deal in both operations and communications.
- They create space for genuine cultural alignment by design, not by chance.
The deal itself is not the goal. The impact is.
What sets the next generation of M&A strategies apart is awareness. Of results, not just signatures and of integration, not just addition. When M&A moves more than just numbers, when it also brings people with it, that’s when a deal becomes real transformation.
Is your M&A strategy ready for what comes after the deal?
I work with leaders where M&A becomes a leadership task, not just a process. What you can expect from me: Clarity before the deal. Leadership after. And a partnership that focuses not just on integration, but on real strategic impact.
Together, we’ll focus on three key levers:
- Sharpening your acquisition objectives
- Designing a communication architecture – before, during, and after closing
- Leading the integration process – structurally and culturally