At an M&A Strategies event at the College Green Hotel, Dublin this morning to launch William Fry’s M&A Review 2025, attendees heard from Irish entrepreneur Denis O’Brien and a guest panel with different perspectives and outlooks of M&A activity both in Ireland and internationally.

Denis O’Brien spoke about his key takeaways from his experiences of M&A activity and he highlighted that the psychology of a transaction can often be underestimated.  He said “Irish entrepreneurs have a light in their pocket. They are invested in their own businesses. If you take some financial pressure off of them through an equity release, it allows them to realise some measure of benefits for their efforts to date. Then they will work even harder, have a better perspective of their risk and build larger scale Irish businesses. If you are an investor, you want entrepreneurs not just to be involved but to actively lead. If they can see some fruits of their labour, they will perform better. ”

The panel session focused on the evolving M&A deal landscape in Ireland with speakers including Rory Quirke, Managing Partner, MML Capital Ireland; Dan Weintraub, Chief Legal Officer, Audax; Máire O’Neill, Corporate / M&A  Partner, William Fry; Mark Murphy, CEO Fenergo and Anya Cummins, Partner Deloitte.

Speaking during the panel discussion, the following participants commented:

Rory Quirke, Managing Partner, MML Capital Ireland commented: “ The question on the impact of AI is very difficult to judge. We have seen the erratic impact on markets so far this year. We know AI will have an impact on most business. Is it going to influence the work flow of a business or is going to take over those workflows. It is really important that a business can clearly narrate a message about their intellectual capital and how a business can protect it to generate value.”

Speaking about the opportunities for M&A in Ireland, he said: “There is a phenomenal amount of high quality businesses and people in Ireland. We have a strong FDI sector which has nurtured Irish businesses to support that inward investment. I think international capital looks at Ireland and has high regard.”

Máire O’Neill, Corporate / M&A Partner at William Fry said: “Macro economic factors do have an impact on the speed and volume of deals. Competitive auctions will always have punchy timelines and especially when there is an abundance of capital, and A+ assets. In deals with stiff competition, urgency will be key.  High value transactions will still demand significant diligence on the value drivers for buyers to stand over the valuation.”

Marc Murphy, CEO Fenergo, said “There is no one better than the Irish. You can put the Irish in any international room and our EQ just helps us read a room. Ireland wins everyday on a global scale,  pitching around the world because of what and how we groom and train staff so they can deliver from Dublin or around the world.”

Anya Cummins, Partner, Head of Deloitte Advisory, spoke about the impact of AI on M&A deals. She said, “We have seen the impact of AI increase significantly in the past year in terms of both deal sourcing and deal execution; and it is becoming a real point of differentiation in the market. We anticipate continued AI adoption across the end to end M&A process, moving from experimental into core workflows. AI is also a key factor in determining the valuation of a business; both in terms of their robustness to AI as a threat, and their opportunity to leverage AI and digital transformation to drive value creation”.

The report highlighted that 524 M&A deals were reported in Ireland last year, representing a 3% year-on-year increase in deal volume, according to William Fry LLP’s M&A Review 2025. However, aggregate deal value declined by 35% compared to the previous year, with a total value of €19.5bn. These latest findings will be announced today at the William Fry M&A Strategies: Insights, Challenges & Opportunities event.

Key findings in the report:

• Irish M&A transaction volume rose by 3% in 2025, despite subdued global conditions.
• Total transaction value fell by 35%, reflecting the absence of megadeals seen in prior years. The variance was largely skewed by the acquisition in 2024 by Apollo Global Management acquisition of a 49% stake in Intel Corp’s Fab 34 facility for €10.1bn.
• Activity remained firmly mid-market focused, with 90% of disclosed deals valued between €5m and €250m.
• Inbound investment remained strong, with 59% of all Irish deals involving overseas bidders, led by US and UK acquirers.
• Private equity accounted for 19% of all M&A activity during the year.

Download the report below.