All questions
Year in review
In 2024, M&A activity in the Netherlands reached record numbers in terms of transactions reported, increasing by 17 per cent from 2023.1 The majority of reported transactions came from the service sector (39 per cent) and industry and construction sector (23 per cent).2 While the number of reported transactions increased, the aggregate value of all deals involving Dutch targets decreased by 46 per cent.3 Despite this overall decrease, the value of deals in the business services sector increased by 194 per cent (from €1.6 billion in 2023 to €4.7 billion in 2024) and in the consumer and retail sector by 22 per cent (from €2.7 billion in 2023 to €3.3 billion in 2024). The value of deals in the financial institutions sector decreased by 92 per cent (from €26.2 billion in 2023 to just €2.2 billion in 2024).
The last quarter of 2024 saw an increase in activity and has led to a 29 per cent increase in M&A activity in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter in 2024, driven in part by strategic buyers. Likely in part due to the US tariff announcements, the second quarter of 2025 was one of the lowest quarterly deal counts in the last five years, although there was an increase in dealmaking towards the end of the second quarter.4
These signs of improvement, as compared to 2024, are reflected in the increase in value of announced and rumoured deals: the aggregate announced and rumoured M&A volume from January to August 2025 amounted to approximately €45.3 billion, which represents a 178 per cent increase in deal value compared to the same period in 2024.5
