Activity in the Spanish mergers and acquisitions market showed a rebound in the number of completed transactions during the first four months of 2026, alongside a certain stabilization in the average pricing multiple observed.
Despite the persistence of several factors continuing to generate global uncertainty — including rising energy costs, geopolitical instability, and increasing global fragmentation — the first four months of 2026 showed stronger momentum in terms of completed transactions compared to the last four months of 2025. However, this first period of the year remained below the level recorded during the same period of the previous year.
Specifically, the number of completed transactions during the first four months of 2026 increased by 16.4% (+117 completed deals) compared to the final four months of the previous financial year, reaching a total of 829 completed transactions.
Meanwhile, average investment volume showed a more moderate trend at the beginning of the year. In particular, based on transactions with disclosed values (258 deals, representing 31.1% of the total), average investment volume declined by 34.3%, standing at approximately €160.1 million.
This development reflects a lower number of large transactions within the overall deal flow, as well as a stronger contribution from the mid-market segment, in line with a more selective market environment.
Despite this, the number of “megadeals” remained high, with a total of nine transactions above €1 billion during the first four months of the year. Among the most significant transactions were the sale of Santander Bank Polska to Erste Group Bank AG (€6.942 billion) and the acquisition of TSB by Banco Santander (€3.3 billion).
From a sector perspective, and following the trend observed in previous years, activities linked to business services and ICT continued to concentrate the highest levels of market activity, jointly accounting for 36.9% of completed transactions (20.9% and 16.0%, respectively).
From a valuation standpoint, Upper Middle Market transactions completed in the European Union between January and April 2026 showed stabilization in the average transaction multiple, standing at 8.54x EBITDA, broadly in line with the levels recorded both in the final four months of 2025 and during the same period of the previous year.
Looking ahead to the coming months, the Spanish M&A market is expected to maintain significant momentum, although within an environment characterized by greater investor selectivity. In this context, market activity will continue to depend on business confidence, financing conditions, and the degree of alignment between buyer and seller expectations.
Those interested in receiving IKEI’s M&A news report — which includes detailed information on corporate acquisition and sale transactions, as well as valuation multiples across the main industry sectors — are invited to request it through the corresponding subscription form.
(*) Upper Middle Market EU transaction multiple
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