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The M&A Journal republished a report "M&A in 2025 and Trends for 2026" by Michael O'Bryan, Scott Behar, James Beach, Chere See...

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The M&A Journal republished a <a href="/resources/insights/260115-m-a-in-2025-and-trends-for-2026" target="_self">report "M&A in 2025 and Trends for 2026"</a> by Michael O'Bryan, Scott Behar, James Beach, Chere See and Shiri Shenhav. The report noted that 2025 marked a renewed but selective M&A environment, with momentum expected to continue into 2026 amid persistent macroeconomic and regulatory complexity. The report also highlights intensifying regulatory scrutiny and AI-related diligence now focuses on governance, data sourcing, bias audits, employment risks, and antitrust exposure.Key Findings<ul><li>In 2025, global M&A rebounded sharply, with total deal value rising 41% year over year to $4.8 trillion, the second-highest level on record, despite a decline in overall deal count.</li><li>Larger transactions drove the surge, including a record number of $10 billion-plus deals, led by the technology sector and AI-related infrastructure.</li><li>North America accounted for just over half of global activity, with Europe and APAC each contributing roughly one-fifth.</li><li>Technology M&A jumped 66% to approximately $1.08 trillion, fueled by AI, data infrastructure, and cybersecurity.</li><li>Life sciences also remained active, particularly in healthcare, while private equity rebounded with a 39% increase in global buyout value and renewed exit activity.</li></ul>Read the <a href="https://themandajournal.com/articles/vol24/iss9/mofo-2/" target="_blank">full article</a>. subscription required

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Mike advises on U.S. and international mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other strategic transactions, including “going private” and other related-party transactions. He has advised companies, boards, and special committees, as well as investment banks, in both negotiated and contested transactions. He works with clients across a variety of industries, including in the technology, software, telecommunications, agtech, consumer, and healthcare/life sciences sectors.Mike has been ranked in numerous publications including Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and Best Lawyers in America. Clients in The Legal 500 describe Mike as “a very seasoned M&A lawyer with a depth of technical expertise.” He has been recognized for M&A by Best Lawyers in America every year since 2013, and in 2021 the publication named him a “Lawyer of the Year” for M&A. He has also been recognized in Who’s Who Legal – The International Who’s Who of Mergers & Acquisitions Lawyers.Before moving to San Francisco, he worked in the firm’s Tokyo office for four years. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, he worked at a Japanese law firm for two years, concentrating on cross–border transactions. He serves on the board of directors of the Japan Society of Northern California.Mike is the immediate past chair of the American Bar Association’s M&A Committee, where he also served as co-editor of the Model Tender Offer Agreement, on the editorial board for the Model Public Company Merger Agreement, as senior reviewer of the forthcoming Revised Model Asset Purchase Agreement, and as the editor of the Annual Survey of M&A Cases. While chair, he co-founded the Committee’s national law student M&A negotiating competition.He also has served on M&A advisory boards, such as the Law360 M&A editorial board and the Thomson Reuters Accelus Business Law Partner advisory board. He is also a member of our global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) steering committee. He is the author or co-author of numerous articles and speaks regularly on M&A and related topics. He leads efforts around the firm’s annual Key M&A Trends report, recognized as a “Top Read Article” by JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards.

Michael G. O'Bryan

Partner

Scott Behar is a corporate partner focusing on complex M&A transactions for technology companies.Scott represents public and private technology companies in a range of strategic transactions, including mergers, stock acquisitions, asset acquisitions, carve-outs and divestitures. He regularly advises on both the buy-side and sell-side, and has significant cross-border experience, having worked on transactions involving target companies in the UK, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Israel, Brazil, Finland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ireland and Hungary, among others. Scott practices in a variety of areas within the technology sector, with a particular interest in games and interactive entertainment.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Scott was a corporate/M&A partner at another international law firm.

Scott Behar

James Beach works with leading middle market private equity firms.James represents private equity funds and their portfolio companies in a broad range of complex domestic and cross-border transactions, including M&A, divestitures, and growth equity investments. He also advises companies across all stages of their lifecycle.James has completed over $20 billion of aggregate transactions across numerous industries, including enterprise software, data, security and technology, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare and consumer products.Prior to joining MoFo, James was a partner in the private equity and M&A group at another global law firm and at a private equity M&A boutique.

James Beach

Chere See is a corporate partner in the Denver office of Morrison Foerster. Chere represents public and private companies in a variety of transactional matters, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions (M&A).Chere advises clients in domestic, cross-border, and multijurisdictional acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, strategic investments, securities offerings, and general corporate matters. Chere has advised clients across a broad range of industries, including companies operating in the technology, finance, semiconductor, consumer goods and retail, and healthcare industries.Chere is a member of the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Group and co-leads the firm’s AI M&A Initiative.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Chere was an associate in the New York and London offices of a top international law firm, where she advised on M&A and capital markets transactions.Chere earned her J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she served as vice president of the Harvard Law School Advocates for Human Rights. Prior to law school, she graduated as valedictorian from New York University College of Arts and Science.

Chere See

Shiri Shenhav is a partner in the Transactions Department and the Mergers + Acquisitions Group based in Palo Alto. Shiri maintains a corporate transactional practice focusing on mergers and acquisitions and equity investments in the technology industry for public and private companies.Shiri regularly assists strategic buyers and private equity funds and their portfolio companies in a variety of domestic and cross-border transactions, including deal structuring and mechanics, stock and asset purchases, mergers, divestitures, and spin-offs. Shiri also regularly represents companies with respect to their equity investments, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions, as well as general corporate counseling.As an accomplished attorney certified in California and in Israel, Shiri has extensive experience representing multinational corporations and funds in cross-border transactions involving Israeli aspects. Shiri also co-leads the firm’s AI M&A Initiative.Shiri is fluent in Hebrew.<h4 dir="ltr">Representative Experience</h4><ul dir="ltr"><li>SoftBank in connection with its acquisition of Berkshire Grey.</li><li>Vontier Corporation in its sale of Global Traffic Technologies to Miovision.</li><li>Walmart in its acquisitions of Art.com, Aspectiva, BareWeb, CareZone, Eloquii, MeMD, and Zeekit.</li><li>Zivelo in its acquisition by VeriFone.</li><li>Unity Technologies in its acquisition of RestAR.</li><li>Alpine Investors and its managed IT services and software platform Evergreen Services Group in connection with the acquisitions of Alliance Solutions Group, Global Wave Group, and Telco Experts.</li><li>Alpine Investors in its acquisition of Ethisphere. </li><li>Astroscale U.S., the U.S. unit of Astroscale Holdings, in its acquisition of certain the intellectual property and other assets and proposed hiring of certain members of the staff of Effective Space Solutions R&D. </li><li>Gryphon Investors and RegEd in the acquisition of ComplianceMAX and FIRE Continuing Education businesses from National Regulatory Services.</li><li>Mirantis in its acquisition of the Docker Enterprise platform business from Docker.</li><li>Rubicon Technology Partners in its strategic majority investment in the merger of EverTrue and ThankView.</li><li>Peer5 in its sale to Microsoft Corporation.</li><li dir="ltr">Protean Electric in its acquisition by National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB.</li></ul>