The CEO Shortlist: Are deals so back?

Emerging ideas for leaders ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

OUR BEST NEW IDEAS FOR THE C-SUITE

Curated by Alex Panas, global leader of industries, & Axel Karlsson, global leader of functional practices and growth platforms

Welcome to the latest edition of the CEO Shortlist, a biweekly newsletter of our best ideas for the C-suite. This week, we’re sharing key findings from the latest edition of our annual report on global M&A. We appreciate the opportunity to connect and hope you find our perspectives novel and insightful. Please let us know what you think! You can reach us at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you, as ever.

—Alex and Axel

An image linking to the web page “M&A Annual Report: Is the wave finally arriving?” on McKinsey.com.

Green grass and high tides? M&A growth in 2024 may have been relatively modest—globally, deal value was up 12 percent to $3.4 trillion. But the market dynamics that stymied dealmaking in the postpandemic years, including increased regulatory scrutiny and economic uncertainty, seem to be receding. As a result, we expect M&A markets to accelerate dramatically in the next six to 12 months.

But dealmakers won’t benefit equally from the fair winds. The big winners will be those who have a clear vision of their M&A strategy, a clear understanding of the roles of transactions and organic growth, and the distinct capabilities they need to pursue M&A effectively.

We hope you find these ideas helpful. See you in a couple of weeks with more McKinsey ideas for the CEO and others in the C-suite.

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