How Cross-Border Deal Dynamics Are Reshaping M&A in Latin America
Global M&A is concentrating around larger deals and strategic buyers — reshaping the competitive landscape across LATAM.
Cross-border investment is a critical source of capital for Latin America (LATAM), connecting businesses and assets across the region with buyers and investors in North America, Europe and Asia. As global capital flows and buyer priorities evolve, understanding the forces shaping cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) — and their impact on competition for LATAM assets — has become increasingly important.
Our new report, The New Geography of Cross-Border M&A, draws on PitchBook data to examine how the geography of global dealmaking is being redrawn in 2026. In the video below, I explore several key findings from the report and their implications for cross-border transactions involving LATAM-based assets.
Larger deals, strategic buyers and cross-border complexity
Globally, fewer deals are getting done, but the transactions moving forward are carrying more weight. M&A volume is more than 20 percent below 2025 levels year to date, yet nearly 60 percent of last year’s total deal value has already been recorded. Strategic buyers are driving more deal activity, accounting for nearly 75 percent of global M&A capital invested as of the first half of the year. As financial sponsors pull back from the largest cross-border opportunities, corporates are stepping in to pursue targets that might have previously attracted private equity (PE).
For LATAM dealmakers, these opportunities come with added execution complexity. Coss-border deals often span multiple jurisdictions, regulatory regimes, languages and time zones. Each additional layer can complicate diligence, fragment communication and place greater pressure on transaction timelines.
Managing that complexity requires deal teams to keep people, information and workflows closely connected. Platforms like DealCentre AI™ help by centralizing due diligence, document analysis and collaboration within a secure, AI-powered environment.
Watch the video for my perspective on what these developments mean for cross-border dealmaking in LATAM, then download The New Geography of Cross-Border M&A for a closer look at the trends shaping the global deal market in 2026.
