Deal value surged 98.2% in the first nine months of 2026.

Investment banks handled a higher value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving Singapore in the first nine months of 2026, as announced deals rose 98.2% year-on-year to $104.3b, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

Morgan Stanley led the investment banking rankings, advising on transactions worth $14.9b and accounting for a 14.2% market share.

Citi followed with $9.5b in deal value, whilst JP Morgan ranked third with $9.4b.

Total M&A activity reached its highest level for the nine-month period since 2021, supported by a record first quarter. However, dealmaking slowed in the following quarters.

In the third quarter, announced deal value fell 9.9% from the previous quarter to $24.1b, marking the second consecutive quarterly decline. The figure was still 34.2% higher than a year earlier.

The number of announced transactions declined 32.4% year-on-year to 186, the lowest quarterly total on record.

M&A involving Singapore-based acquisition targets reached $39.2b during the nine-month period, up 88.5% year-on-year and the highest level in five years.

This included the $5.2b acquisition of STT GDC by KKR and Singtel.

Domestic M&A more than doubled to $16.1b, whilst acquisitions of Singapore companies by foreign buyers increased 55.2% to $23.2b.

Meanwhile, outbound M&A, involving Singapore investors acquiring or investing in overseas businesses, more than tripled to a record $46.3b.

The increase was driven largely by GIC’s participation in Anthropic’s $30b funding round in February, the largest transaction involving Asia Pacific so far this year.

Technology accounted for the largest share of M&A activity involving Singapore, with $47.7b in announced transactions, representing 45.8% of total deal value.

Real estate followed with $12.3b, or 11.8%, whilst the financial sector recorded $12.1b, accounting for 11.6%.

Despite the increase in total deal value, the decline in the number of third-quarter transactions indicated that M&A activity was concentrated in fewer, larger deals.