M&A Report
This article is part of Bain's 2026 M&A Report.
Facing unprecedented industry transformation and emerging competitive threats, many telecommunications companies are turning to mergers and acquisitions to add new capabilities and evolve their businesses for the next era. At the same time, in the biggest industry reset since deregulation, the integrated telco is giving way to more disaggregated, narrowly focused business models. We’re tracking telecom M&A activity around the world, and we’ll publish the latest developments in this dashboard each quarter.
Here are some of the key takeaways through the fourth quarter of 2025.
- Deal value down: After rebounding in 2024, global telecom M&A activity plunged last year. Total value sank 37% year over year, from $126 billion to $80 billion. The last two quarters were particularly slow, totaling just $7.9 billion and $6.6 billion, respectively. Deal value decreased across all regions last year: by 83% in Asia-Pacific; by 47% in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and by 20% in the Americas. Still, the Americas accounted for 78% of the global total in 2025, led by Charter’s $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox Communications.
- Trends to watch: We anticipate M&A activity to remain stagnant. Macroeconomic uncertainty—including high interest rates, trade and tariff risks, and regulatory challenges—presents major headwinds. In addition, telcos are placing strategic emphasis on AI, fiber networks, software-as-a-service, and asset streamlining. That said, don't be surprised by a flurry of dealmaking in segments ripe for consolidation, such as fiber alternative networks in Europe.
- Biggest deal: The Charter–Cox transaction, a scale deal aimed at expanding reach and spurring competitive growth, accounted for about 43% of global value last year.
- Scale deals lead the way: It’s no surprise, then, that scale deals represented nearly two-thirds of global deal value last year, up from 59% during the previous year. Infrastructure divestments followed, with 21% of the 2025 global total on par with 18% in 2024. Recent deals in this category, led by financial investors, signal continued confidence in the business fundamentals of digital infrastructure assets.
- Long-term view: Scale deals have accounted for about 43% of all deal value over the past five years, the largest share among deal types. Infrastructure divestments have the second-largest share at 29% during that same period.