By Jerome Pottier, EMEA Chief Revenue Officer at Datasite
Despite heightened geopolitical instability, parts of the global M&A market remain resilient. Global M&A deal value reached $861 billionn in Q1 2026, an almost 10% increase versus Q1 2025, even as the number of deals fell year on year. On Datasite, which facilitates close to 16,000 new deals annually, new deal kick-offs increased 22% globally in the first quarter of this year compared to the same time a year ago.
The takeaway is not a broad-based rebound, but an adapting, and increasingly K-shaped, market. Many buyers are cautious on timing and valuation, yet when confidence returns, they push to sign and close quickly. In practice, ‘wait-then-sprint’ means longer hesitation before signing, followed by compressed diligence, approvals and closing once a process finally goes live.
This ‘wait-then-sprint’ cycle has become the defining rhythm of today’s market. The hesitation is rational: tariff regimes can change a target’s economics mid-process; geopolitical events can reprice cross-border risk overnight; and AI is creating real uncertainty about durable competitive advantage and valuation. In EMEA, deal volumes fell year on year in 2025 even as aggregate value rose 25%. In other words: fewer decisions, but bigger ones, executed faster once boards commit.
How AI is reshaping due diligence
AI is already compressing diligence timelines by automating document-heavy work, including triaging large data rooms, extracting key terms, flagging anomalies, and supporting contract review. McKinsey research shows that among organisations using gen AI in M&A, 40% say it enabled 30%–50% faster deal cycles, with average cost reductions of roughly 20%.
To be sure, that acceleration is positive, yet it changes behaviour. When AI removes manual friction, teams can be tempted to squeeze the judgement-based steps that still determine outcomes, including investment committee debate, legal risk assessment, integration planning and regulatory strategy. In other words, the danger is faster decision-making without enough scrutiny.
Deal pipelines also appear to be building. Datasite’s Deal Drivers report identified 1,833 assets for sale across EMEA entering 2026, evidence of adviser readiness and sellers testing the market. Less visible is the backlog of postponed decisions rather than outright cancellations. The longer boards delay, the more activity bunches into short windows when financing and confidence improve.
Why speed creates risk, and how to protect diligence quality
Speed, however, can amplify risk. Compressed timelines make it easier to miss issues in contracts, litigation, cyber, compliance, tax, or change-of-control terms, especially when multiple workstreams run in parallel. The most effective teams build repeatable diligence workflows, that include clear responsibility by workstream disciplined Q&A, tools that reduce manual review and consistent request lists, which allow them to move quickly without lowering the bar. The advantage increasingly goes to firms that prepare during the ‘wait’ phase, rather than improvising during the sprint.
Preparing for the window
None of this undermines the underlying case for dealmaking. Dry powder remains substantial. The ECB policy rate has stabilised at around 2%, restoring some financing predictability after a volatile period. And the strategic logic for consolidation across technology, industrials, and financial services has not diminished. As deferred decisions convert, the volume of activity landing in a compressed period could be significant.
The wait-then-sprint cycle is a rational response to uncertainty. Waiting for clarity can protect valuation and reduce regret. Yet many organisations are discovering that time saved while waiting cannot always be recovered at the back end, especially when diligence, approvals, and regulatory steps are non-negotiable.
The winners in this market will not be the teams that move fastest at any cost, but those that invest now in the processes, data readiness, and technology that make fast, high-quality execution possible when the window opens.