Mergers and acquisitions in France recorded their strongest first-half performance by deal value since 2018, driven by a shift toward fewer but significantly larger transactions.
The market’s resurgence reflects a strategic pivot by French corporate groups, which are increasingly pursuing cross-border expansion and large-scale consolidation rather than domestic tuck-in acquisitions.
According to Challenges, the volume of M&A activity has surged in the first half of the year, with the total value of deals reaching levels not seen in nearly a decade.
The data indicates a structural change in the French M&A landscape: while the number of individual operations has declined, the average size of each transaction has grown substantially.
This trend is being led by major French corporations with ambitions to scale internationally, leveraging the current favorable financing environment to execute complex, high-value deals.
This domestic upswing aligns with broader global trends.