LATEST DATA: Q4 2025
Q4 private equity deal volume marked weakest finish in five years
Dealmakers had been banking on a strong finish to 2025 to propel momentum in 2026. Though many sources felt that the year had ended positively, the numbers suggest that the final quarter failed to build on an already soft Q3. According to PE Hub’s analysis of S&P Market Intelligence data, Q4 2025 private equity and venture capital deal volume yielded the weakest finish in the last five years, coming in with just 1,033 deals closed.
It breaks with an interesting pattern in our data. In all years except for 2022, not only are fourth quarters usually stronger, they are usually the strongest quarter of their years. This was not the case in 2025.
PREVIOUS DATA
Private equity dealmaking showed early signs of rebound in Q3
Sources told PE Hub they expected an uptick in deals in the second half – the latest numbers suggest that optimism was warranted.
Q2 2025: Worst quarter for private equity deal volume since Q2 2020
Tariff turmoil took a considerable toll on completed PE transactions.
Q1 2025: Deal activity dips as uncertainties rise
Some of the biggest deals that closed in Q1 were in the TMT sector: Silver Lake bought Endeavor for about $10bn; IBM bought HashiCorp for $8.1bn; Blackstone and Vista bought Smartsheet for $7.9bn.
Q4 2024 deals: Industrials and TMT led dealmaking
Every quarter in 2024 was better than the last. M&A ended the year on a strong, positive note, with the industrials and TMT sectors representing a bulk of the dealmaking.
