US President Donald Trump's deal-making at the beginning of his presidency was the worst in the last decade. This is attributed to the instability of the new head of state's policies.
This was reported by the Financial Times, according to UNN.
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In January 2025, total U.S. M&A activity fell by nearly 30% to 873 deals year-over-year, the lowest since 2015, according to LSEG. In dollar terms, deal activity fell by 18% year-on-year.
Proponents of the deals said the slowdown reflected concerns about the new US president's economic and trade policies, which somewhat dampened Wall Street's initial enthusiasm after his election in November.
This is incredibly unstable. Whatever you thought of the previous administration's policies, they provided a stable and predictable backdrop for markets. This has been replaced by volatile policies that oscillate between a so-called business-friendly agenda and trade disputes, isolationism, and a generally inflationary policy that clouds the outlook for interest rates
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According to Frank Aquila, partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, concerns about possible economic disruption caused by Trump's plan to impose high tariffs on important trading partners such as Mexico and Canada, combined with fears that the president's populist agenda could slow down approval of new deals, are also weighing on short-term sentiment.
I still believe this will be a good year for M&A, but business enthusiasm is fragile and easily shaken
According to Jonathan Gray, president of private equity group Blackstone, recent signals from Federal Reserve officials that the U.S. central bank will keep interest rates higher for longer also contributed to a "definite slowdown" in M&A in the fourth quarter.
The $1.1 trillion asset manager still expects deal volumes to increase in 2025 as some of the volatility is reduced.