MEXICO Trends and Developments Contributed by: Michell Nader and Julián J Garza, Nader Hayaux & Goebel
the last few years, and particularly in 2025. Both bank - ing and non-banking institutions (including Mexican “sofoms”, “sofipos”, insurance companies and fintech entities), as well as entities associated with the infra - structure and technology sectors, are rapidly grow - ing in Mexico. During 2025, Mexico welcomed several new banks and a variety of other financial institutions with a wide range of products and assets, particu - larly in the digital realm. M&A activity in these sectors has included the establishment of new entities, merg - ers, acquisitions – both of assets and equity – and transformations of players in the market into far more developed institutions. Mexico’s GDP growth in 2025 was minimal and should not be substantial this year. Nonetheless, foreign and private investment numbers were reasonable, even considering the slowdown in sectors such as ener - gy and the implementation of reforms in a variety of areas, including the judicial system, transparency and autonomous agencies. During most of 2025, Mexico increased its fiscal deficit, while maintaining a strong manufacturing base and a positive trade balance. The Mexican federal government continued to focus on reducing government spending, promoting social pro - grammes and attempting to stimulate state-owned oil and electricity agencies. For the most part of 2025, M&A activity continued to be supported by adequate sources of financing, private equity investments and equity transactions. Also, 2025 saw a continued increase of venture capital and private equity flowing into the Mexican market, bringing along meaningful acquisitions, joint ventures, mergers and combination transactions. Expectations for 2026 Multiple opportunities in sectors such as real estate and renewables are not yet being fully exploited. The current administration has set infrastructure develop - ment as one of its higher priorities, including in the sectors of highways, ports, renewables and electricity projects, trains and logistics. 2026 will have its significant share of risks globally, and Mexico will not be the exception. In addition, as mentioned before, it is not clear whether central banks will take strong action to expedite economic growth,
among other reasons, due to inflation concerns. Therefore, any measures to incentivise the economy could be slow. Despite potential adverse market conditions and a possible slowdown of economic activity, it should be expected that investments, including through private equity and venture capital, as well as financ - ings in a number of forms (acquisition finance, struc - tured finance, project finance, securitisations, asset- backed lending and bond issuances), will continue to provide support to the Mexican M&A industry. Also, challenging economic environments bring with them opportunistic M&A activity, including through merg - ers, spin-offs, workouts, corporate reorganisations and restructurings, as well as sales and divestitures of assets or business divisions, including for publicly traded companies and regulated entities, in the agri - cultural, retail, water, infrastructure and real estate industries, among others. A number of industries are actually intertwined, and their growth is subject to the results of initiatives in other sectors. Mexico is viewed as an extraordinary hub for the development of renewable projects and logistics and distribution premises given its unique geographical location and conditions. Such projects may develop to their fullest potential to the extent the government is willing to prompt further private invest - ment in infrastructure, including ports, railways and highways. The current administration is attempting to advance projects in such sectors to foster invest - ments and M&A activity in the country. M&A transactions should continue to be robust dur - ing 2026, including in the following sectors: financial entities, IT projects, fintech, e-commerce, real estate, logistics, retail, hospitality, health services, manufac - turing, telecoms, infrastructure, water, renewables and electricity. Such sectors may benefit from joint ven - tures and strategic alliances with new partners, both foreign and local. A final word with regard to the USMCA. The rounds of review and negotiation will commence soon. In princi - ple, it is expected that the overall agreement among the three countries should be upheld and renewed in terms substantially similar to those that apply
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