The international investment banking firm ONEtoONE Corporate Finance, one of the M&A advisors with the broadest global presence, held its Annual Congress this week in Barcelona, bringing together more than 100 advisors from 78 cities across five continents.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the drivers behind mergers and acquisitions activity, including the abundance of capital in private equity funds with investment periods nearing expiration, the need for consolidation in mature industries, and the growing digital transformation pushing companies to acquire capabilities in artificial intelligence and new technologies.
The firm’s experts also identified geographic diversification through cross-border deals as a strategic priority to gain global competitive advantages. On the risk side, they highlighted macroeconomic volatility, geopolitical tensions, and currency fluctuations, all of which threaten the expected returns of many deals.
2025: Fewer deals, but larger in size
ONEtoONE notes that in 2025 the global M&A market recorded a 9% drop in the number of transactions, although with larger-scale deals. The United States and Asia have led activity thanks to their macroeconomic strength, while Europe underperformed, with declines of around 6% in a context of slowdown and high public debt.
The pressure on private equity funds to deploy capital points to a more dynamic 2026, with significant deals expected on both sides of the Atlantic. According to the firm, companies will continue to turn to M&A to adapt to technological disruption, optimize their global supply chains, and capture sector-specific synergies.
Spain: partial recovery in 2026
In Spain, M&A activity dropped by around 30% in the number of deals and 40% in value during 2025, with approximately 3,500 transactions expected by year-end. For 2026, ONEtoONE forecasts a partial market recovery, driven by the anticipated improvement in ECB interest rates and a large pipeline of pending deals.
The most prominent sectors will be Technology, Energy, and Real Estate, where both investor interest and strategic growth needs converge.
International expansion and Group consolidation
Over the past two decades, ONEtoONE Corporate Finance has consolidated its position as a key player in advising family businesses and in cross-border transactions, where value creation is most significant. Today, after more than twenty years of operations, the firm has over 200 corporate finance specialists and offices in 42 countries and 78 cities, with a strong presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania.
Cities where ONEtoONE is present include: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Beijing, Belgrade, Berlin, Bilbao, Birmingham, Bratislava, Brisbane, Bogotá, Brussels, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Graz, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Houston, Ho Chi Minh, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Lausanne, León, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Madrid, Manchester, Medellín, Manila, Miami, Milan, Mumbai, Naples, New Delhi, New York, Nicosia, Oakville, Ottawa, Palma de Mallorca, Las Palmas, Pamplona, Paris, Pori, Pruszków, Quito, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, San José de Costa Rica, Santiago de Chile, San Sebastián, São Paulo, Seville, Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai, Sligo, Sofia, Sydney, Tirana, The Hague, Turin, Toronto, Valencia, Warsaw, Vienna, Wiesbaden, Yerevan, Zagreb, and Zaragoza.
In 2022, the group created the fund management company ONEtoONE Asset Management, specializing in European private equity vehicles, thereby establishing two complementary divisions:
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