Author: The Fortune Leaders

After a slow start to the year, global mergers, and acquisitions (M&A) activity picked up steam in the third quarter of 2025, indicating an upbeat turn. PwC reports that through May, the total deal value reached $567 billion across 4,535 deals, which was a nearly flat year-over-year performance but laid the groundwork for the Q3 rebound.

With a backlog of about $1 trillion in uninvested capital accumulated due to uncertain pricing and high interest rates, private equity (PE) firms continue to be significant players. Expectations of increased transaction activity in the upcoming months are being driven by that latent capital.

Michael Arougheti, CEO of Ares Management, credited increased clarity regarding U.S. tax laws and tariffs for the Q3 increase in dealmaking. The slowdown in April was followed by a boom in May and June, with notable deals being posted by industries like railroads, cybersecurity, and industrials. As long as the economy stays steady, Arougheti expects activity to continue to pick up speed.

In the first half of 2025, the number of deals fell by 9% compared to 2024, but the total value increased by 15% due to larger megadeals, particularly those worth over $1 billion, which became more frequent by roughly 17% to 19% over the previous year, according to PwC’s mid-year reporting.

Analysts from McKinsey, Bain, Deloitte, and Goldman Sachs highlight a positive combination of macroeconomic tailwinds for the future, including a loosening of monetary policy, less regulatory red tape, and the broad use of AI technologies that present strategic growth prospects. A wider M&A uptick through the rest of 2025 and into 2026 is supported by all these factors.

However, dealmakers continue to exercise caution, particularly in cross-border and mid-sized carve-out transactions that face high financing costs and complex regulations. According to EY, there may only be a one percent increase in U.S. deal volumes in 2025, and uncertainty will continue to exist across all industries.

Additionally, startups are joining the market: Crunchbase reports that in the first half of 2025, startup acquisitions increased by 15 percent year over year, indicating a growing interest in venture-backed innovation assets.

All things considered, the Q3 recovery shows fresh hope as big deals are being approved, capital markets are levelling off, and regulatory environments are becoming more transparent. The upward momentum in value indicates that 2025 may still turn out to be a pivotal year for international dealmaking, even though volumes have not yet fully recovered to their peak levels.

Blockchain-driven “real-world asset” platforms are revolutionising asset management, and major financial institutions around the world are speeding up the adoption of tokenisation. Since 2020, banks have invested more than $100 billion in blockchain technology, primarily in tokenisation, custody, and digital settlement systems, according to Ripple.

There is a noticeable industry momentum. Investor demand for tokenised representations of stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash deposits is increasing, according to a Bank of America report, signalling the start of a multi-year shift towards blockchain-based capital markets. According to Deloitte and BPM projections, the number of banks issuing tokenised assets is expected to double by 2025, and by 2030, tokenisation is expected to reach $600 billion.

Cooperation is essential. BlackRock, Fidelity, and other companies are initially involved in the joint effort by Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon to tokenise money-market fund shares using blockchain infrastructure. In the meantime, Taurus, backed by Deutsche Bank, has introduced a custody and tokenisation platform for institutional banks based in Solana.

The recent partnership between R3 and the Solana Foundation further validated institutional interest by allowing major banks, such as HSBC, Citi, and Bank of America, to tokenise stocks, bonds, and funds on Solana’s public blockchain. If desired, clients can continue to operate on R3’s private Corda ledger.

Creating value: Blockchain-based tokenisation provides 24/7 access, instantaneous settlement, enhanced liquidity, compliance with smart contracts, and reduced operating expenses. Additionally, this model makes fractional ownership possible, democratising access to expensive assets like institutional funds or real estate.

Companies that manage billions of tokenised assets, ranging from digital equity funds to US Treasuries, and offer vital infrastructure for institutional adoption, such as Securitise, are becoming more well-known.

There are still difficulties. Important obstacles to broad adoption are identified as investor education, regulatory clarity, and interoperability between on-chain and conventional finance systems. However, backing from laws like the U.S. GENIUS Act, which offer stablecoin regulation and more transparent frameworks, points to a more promising future.

Global banks are generally moving from pilot projects to production-grade tokenisation strategies, which indicates that asset management is undergoing a structural change. With regulatory frameworks changing and infrastructure growing quickly, 2025 looks to be the year that tokenisation transitions from a niche innovation to an institutional standard.

For the fifth consecutive meeting without a rate change, the Federal Reserve declared on July 30, 2025, that it would keep its benchmark federal funds rate between 4.25 and 4.50%. Chair Jerome Powell stressed a cautious, data-driven approach, emphasising that future economic data, not political pressure, will determine interest rates.

Powell reiterated the Fed’s dedication to independence and policy discipline in the face of mounting pressure from former President Trump and other political leaders to lower rates. He specifically mentioned the uncertainty surrounding tariff-driven inflation and cautioned that taking hasty action could jeopardise long-term price stability.

Notably, two governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller dissented, urging an immediate quarter-point rate cut due to worries about a contracting labour market. The fact that this is the first dual dissent since 1993 shows how the committee’s internal debate is intensifying.

A mixed picture emerges from economic indicators: Q2 GDP grew 3%, exceeding projections, but consumer spending is slowing and labour markets are cooling, as evidenced by recent declines in payroll growth. In the meantime, rising tariffs contributed to the Core PCE Price Index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, rising to 2.8% in June, well above its 2% target.

The market’s reaction was muted: Treasury yields slightly increased and the dollar strengthened, while stocks fell as investors reduced their expectations for a rate cut in September. The likelihood of a cut in September has decreased from almost 65% to roughly 45%, according to analysts including Deutsche Bank.

Top Fed officials, such as Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic and New York Fed President John Williams, continue to characterise the labour market as strong but cautious, putting more data ahead of changing monetary policy. Later in 2025, if inflation continues to cool and there are additional indications of a soft labour market, the Fed may lower interest rates.

In conclusion, the Fed’s decision to maintain rates is a result of economic uncertainty that balances growth and inflation risks while reaffirming a methodical, data-driven approach to future policy changes.