M&A market in Spain in 2026: higher value, fewer transactions

The mergers and acquisitions market in Spain has shown uneven performance during the first quarter of 2026. According to the quarterly report by TTR Data, a total of 688 transactions—both announced and completed—were recorded, with an aggregate value of €36.219 billion.

This represents a 64% increase in total deal value, alongside an 18% decrease in the number of transactions compared to the same period of the previous year.

The data reflects a shift in the Spanish transactional market. The increase in total deal value, combined with the reduction in the number of transactions, points to a market increasingly concentrated in larger deals.

This trend indicates an environment where transactions are greater in scale, with less overall dynamism in the total volume of deals.

Industry sources describe a significant slowdown in M&A activity in Spain. In this context, companies are postponing or reconsidering transactions due to the difficulty of setting valuations in an unstable environment.

The lack of clear pricing benchmarks complicates deal execution, leading to what some sources describe as a “generalised standstill.”

International uncertainty is one of the key factors shaping the market. Ongoing tensions in the Middle East, lasting approximately one and a half months, are affecting business confidence and making medium-term planning more difficult.

This context is particularly relevant for transactions requiring leveraged financing. Additionally, the memory of recent events—such as those experienced in 2022 and 2023 in connection with the war in Ukraine and rising financing costs—continues to influence current corporate decision-making.

The market is also influenced by the situation of private credit funds, which are facing redemption requests in a context of valuation adjustments.

Part of the sector links these tensions to the exposure of such funds to technology companies in the United States, affected by changes in performance and by the impact of artificial intelligence on their business models.

However, market sources indicate that in Europe and in Spain there is no significant exposure to this phenomenon.

From a supervisory perspective, the Chairman of the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, Carlos San Basilio, has ruled out any risk of contagion to the European system from U.S. asset managers.

According to his data, there are eight hedge funds with exposure to these types of assets, with a volume close to €1 billion. This represents approximately 10% of this segment and less than 1% of total collective investment assets in Spain.

A study by the Banco de España published in December 2025 indicates that 528 companies accessed financing through private credit between 2019 and 2023.

During the same period, 955,893 companies relied on traditional bank financing, highlighting the difference in scale between both systems. The report also notes that Spanish banks’ exposure to non-bank entities has remained stable since 2017, at around 7%, without a significant increase in systemic risk.

All these factors outline a market in transition. Activity continues, but at a slower pace and with greater demands in the valuation of each transaction.

The increase in total deal value, combined with the decrease in the number of transactions, confirms a trend towards larger deals in an environment marked by caution and uncertainty.

In this context, at ILIA ETL GLOBAL we advise companies on processes related to these types of transactions, including business acquisitions, Due Diligence and capital increases, adapting each engagement to an environment where analysis, structuring and legal certainty are key.