German partners at Latham & Watkins, Hengeler Mueller and elsewhere are forecasting a surge in dealmaking in 2026 as Trump-driven geopolitical upheaval reshapes the M&A landscape and prompts clients to spend more to protect their investments. Latham M&A partner Alexander 'Stefan' Rieger, regional chair of the corporate department in Continental Europe, said fewer clients—sophisticated players with big budgets—now control more of the activity. “There is a consolidation of the market when it comes to top-tier clients, i.e. private equity or those with a limited partner base.” The instability is keeping lawyers busy. Latham has been riding high in Germany so far this year, advising on a $7.5 billion fitness merger and €2.1 billion ($2.4 billion) Worthington steel takeover of Klöckner, and with Rieger himself advising on a data centre investment that market sources say is worth up to $4 billion. “What we see is generally a more careful approach to counsel selection, so limited partners are always protected in the best possible manner,” Rieger said. “This is a switch to a more focused approach with stronger relationships with top firms in developed markets rather than a broad coverage.” Business as Usual? GlobalData ranks Latham as the top global M&Afirm in FY2025 in terms of deal value, advising on deals worth $740 billion, while Kirkland & Ellis ranked first in terms of volume by advising on 537 deals. A Latham source confirmed that their numbers are realistic and called their growth “astonishing”. Latham, Freshfields, Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz and a range of others advised on the $53 billion merger of mining giants Anglo American and Teck, while Wachtell and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom are among the advisers on Union Pacific‘s proposed $85 billion railroad tie-up with Norfolk Southern. Kirkland, meanwhile, appeared unstoppable in 2025, by advising on three European megadeals in July alone, including a $2.5 billion cash bid for Germany’s Ceconomy. GlobalData’s analysis found that all of 2025’s top 20 M&A firms by deal value saw their totals rise—with three firms, Watchtell, Paul Hastings, and Jones Day—increasing their total M&A deal value by more than 230%. “In general, what we are getting is a positive sentiment for the year, but we will have to see if this holds,” said Hengeler Mueller M&A partner Oda Goetzke, who also advised on the Klöckner steel takeover by Worthington. ”We have seen businesses work as they do over past years, so I have optimism.” M&A and Geopolitical Instability

Global instability and shifting trade conditions are expected to drive companies to reorganise and pursue M&A. "Overall, I think the world will become more fragmented, more fragile, less competitive overall and less sustainable,” said Linklaters M&A partner Timo Engelhardt. “Whenever there is a shift in the prevailing paradigms, you will have to reorganise your business and that will induce M&A activities.” In a stable, low-tariff environment, companies don’t need to build or acquire local production to serve the North American market. But if U.S.–Europe tensions signal less global stability, firms will rethink production locations—driving demand for legal advice and likely more, smaller-value transactions than in 2025. “Mega transactions are something that makes more sense in a globalised world rather than in a fragmented world," Engelhardt said. As the saying goes, markets don't like uncertainty. But Mark Barron, a London M&A partner and head of Taylor Wessing's inward investment practice, believes increased geopolitical volatility is priced in now and that was evident in 2025's robust transaction volumes. "Based on what I'm hearing, I also expect 2026 to be a very buoyant year for M&A, with the transatlantic capital corridor remaining one of the strongest drivers of activity," Barron said. Central and Eastern Europe is also on a clear M&A upswing, with 2025 seeing record deal volumes and values in 2025 as the region—led by Poland—delivered bigger, more frequent transactions across key sectors. “Poland is the story," Greenberg Traurig M&A partner Stephen Horvath said.