Private equity looks abroad while corporate buyers stay close to home

Dealmaking has stalled this year, but corporate acquirers and private equity firms are responding to the slowdown in opposite ways.

Corporates are retreating to a short list of familiar markets. Buyout firms are searching wider, across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

The split runs through Deloitte’s latest M&A Trends Pulse Survey, a mid-year poll of 500 senior corporate and private equity dealmakers.

The caution is easy to explain. Tariffs, the war in the Middle East, and higher oil prices have pushed inflation back up, from 2.4% early in the year to 3.8% by April, and the Federal Reserve has held rates since its last cut in late 2025.