Big Tech M&A still frozen post-inauguration

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The Weekend Pitch

March 16, 2025

(Jenna O'Malley/PitchBook News)

The Trump administration passed its 50-day mark this week, and any prior hope of a post-inauguration dealmaking boom now just looks like wishful thinking.

Strategic M&A has gotten off to an excruciatingly slow start: US M&A volumes in January were the lowest they've been in 10 years, and February wasn't rosy either.

Corporates are handcuffed by antitrust policing, price mismatches and market turmoil. And the new leadership at the FTC and Department of Justice is much more critical of Big Tech market consolidation than some Silicon Valley power players might've expected.

It doesn't look like antitrust regulators are going anywhere under Trump.

I'm Rosie Bradbury, and this is The Weekend Pitch. You can reach me at rosie.bradbury@pitchbook.com or on X @_RosieBradbury.

Trivia

Female founders in Europe got their largest share of VC deal value across the continent in a decade, according to PitchBook's 2024 European All In Report. What was that percentage?

A) 40.6%
B) 30.6%
C) 20.6%
D) 10.6%

Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch!

PE middle-market recovery
fires on all cylinders

PE dealmaking in the middle market made a comeback in 2024. The segment tallied more than $374 billion worth of deals—on pace to hit the second-highest level on record when factoring in late-reporting deals, according to our latest US PE Middle Market Report.

Exit activity also rebounded after declining for two years in a row. The total value of PE exits from mid-market companies increased 15% year-over-year.

The relative attractiveness of the segment drove dealmaking in the first half of 2024, and improving market conditions helped boost activity in H2.

Startups enter the
M&A big leagues

Startups are making acquisition offers that five years ago were only considered the domain of corporates. In 2024, over one-third of the startup acquisitions closed were by a fellow VC-backed buyer, according to our recent analyst note.

As startup buyers make bigger swings, Big Tech has shied away. Regulatory changes and market dynamics have curtailed many larger corporates' M&A bidding.

Quote/Unquote

"A week ago, a bunch of institutional investors were in San Francisco for conferences, the mood was generally upbeat, [but] earlier this week, I think investors were much more focused on their existing portfolios."

—Lise Buyer, the co-founder of IPO adviser Class V Group, when speaking about this week's turbulent market conditions and how they could impact IPO hopefuls.

Trivia

(Stacey Osborne/PitchBook News)

Answer: C.

In 2024, female founders snagged about €10.2 billion (about $11.1 billion) in VC funding, representing 20.6% of overall European deal value. Read more about female founders in Europe here.

Stay tuned

Keep an eye out for these insights and research reports coming out this week:

Q1 2025 Quant Perspectives: Venture Capital
Q4 2024 VC Healthtech Report
2024 Annual Global Private Debt Report
Q4 2024 Clean Energy M&A Report
Q4 2024 Pharma Biotools Report
2025 Foodtech Overview

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This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Rosie Bradbury and Nadine Manske. It was edited by Kia Kokalitcheva and Clarinda Simpson.

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Big Tech M&A still frozen post-inauguration

Trivia

PE middle-market recovery
fires on all cylinders

Startups enter the
M&A big leagues

Quote/Unquote

Trivia

Stay tuned

Sign up for our newsletter

Older messages

VC stuck in IPO limbo

The Founder Institute targets first VC fund

Dry powder piles up for mature funds

Startups gear up for EU defense surge

Secondaries: $100B+ in 2024 and rising

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Big Tech M&A still frozen post-inauguration

Trivia

PE middle-market recovery fires on all cylinders

Startups enter the M&A big leagues

Quote/Unquote

Trivia

Stay tuned

Sign up for our newsletter

Older messages

You Might Also Like

PE middle-market recovery
fires on all cylinders

Startups enter the
M&A big leagues