SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Terence Quek, Benjamin Cheong and Favian Tan, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP
Global Overview While 2025 began with deal-makers holding a posi- tive outlook towards mergers and acquisitions (M&A), expectations were quickly tempered by global events, particularly the threat of international tariffs, as well as regional conflicts across the globe. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, M&A volumes have continued to decline globally, fall- ing by 9% in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024. A BCG report similarly states that the total global M&A deal value reached USD1.1 tril- lion, marking a decline of approximately 2% from the preceding six months and remaining below historical averages. However, deal values were up 15% in the first half of 2025, led by a greater number of megadeals. Amongst these deals, the technology sector continues to see the most M&A activity. On a regional level, the PwC report indicates that, in quantitative terms, M&A trends in Asia Pacific in the first half of 2025 have mirrored global trends. Deal values grew by 14%, but deal volumes were down by 8%. BCG has taken stock of market sentiment via its global M&A Sentiment Index, in which Asia Pacific has continued to struggle, sinking to a new low on the index over the course of approximately the past decade. This reflects continued economic uncer- tainty in the region, compounded by trade actions by the United States of America (USA). However, hope remains that significant fiscal stimulus in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) could eventually revive the region’s M&A activity. M&A in Singapore In Singapore, according to a London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) report, M&A value increased 3.2% to USD35.2 billion in the first half of 2025, relative to the same period in 2024. Large deals valued at over USD5 billion featured less prominently during this period, with investors and issuers focusing on smaller sized M&As. One of the only mega deals in 2025 with a Singapore nexus has been the sale of Temasek Holdings Private Limited’s
stake in an Indian joint venture with Schneider Electric to the French company for SGD8.18 billion. Despite the absence of mega deals, mid-sized deals (USD1–3 billion) are reported to be rising in digital infrastructure, banking and renewable energy, with more expected in 2026. There were at least nine deals involving Singapore companies valued between USD1 billion and USD3 billion, totalling USD14.9 billion in the first half of 2025, compared with five in the first half of 2024. In February 2025, private equity firm Silver Lake Tech- nology Management, LLC and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC Private Limited, completed their USD1.7 billion acquisition of the monetisation plat- form software company Zuora, Inc, taking the com- pany private and delisting it from the New York Stock Exchange. Additionally, in June 2025, the United Kingdom-based sustainability technology company Diginex Limited entered into a memorandum of understanding to acquire the Singapore-headquartered marketing tech- nology platform provider Resulticks for approximately USD2 billion. In August 2025, the Singapore telecommunications companies (telcos) SIMBA Telecom Pte Ltd (SIMBA) and M1 Limited (M1) announced that they had entered into a sale and purchase agreement for SIMBA to acquire 100% of the shares in M1 at an enterprise value of SGD1.43 billion. More recently, in October 2025, Singapore biotech firm Nanyang Biologics Pte Ltd announced the sign- ing of a business combination agreement with publicly listed special-purpose acquisition company RF Acqui- sition Corp II, with the transaction valuing Nanyang Biologics at approximately USD1.5 billion and with the combined company expected to list on Nasdaq. Additionally, in November 2025, leading contract chip- maker GlobalFoundries acquired the Singapore-based silicon photonics foundry Advanced Micro Foundry, in a boost to Singapore’s role in the AI-driven data centre and communications boom.
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