This article is a guest post by J. Neely, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Transaction Advisory at Accenture. The views expressed are solely those of the author.

Entering 2026, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) face a new backdrop. Financing conditions have stabilized and become more predictable, but geopolitical volatility and trade policy complexity pose greater challenges for dealmakers.

However, the market still shows signs of optimism, and the coming year may bring a reshuffling. In the private equity sector alone,more than $2.5 trillion in dry powder remains on hand; S&P Cap IQ data shows that M&A transaction value reached $3.1 trillion in the first 10 months of 2025, with the average deal size rising to $82.2 million.

Take divestitures, for example. S&P Capital IQ data indicates that divestiture deals in the first three quarters of 2025 grew 31% compared to the same period in 2024. Although the previously anticipated V-shaped rebound has not fully materialized, a path of increased deal activity and corporate business reset is becoming clearer. A more explicit understanding of the current market operating rules can help companies effectively position for the future, including portfolio rebalancing.

Strategically breaking up large diversified companies can reduce complexity and ultimately enhance valuation multiples. Meanwhile, activist investor activity is increasing—according to Accenture research,4 out of every 10 companies in the S&P 500have been targeted by activist investors at least once in the past 15 years—putting rising pressure on companies to deliver on their value propositions.

On the other hand, as companies become more accustomed to the regulatory environment, opportunities may arise to pursue large deals that clearly demonstrate economic and consumer benefits. As common sense dictates, higher predictability and clarity can spur action. According to ourmacroeconomic analysis, U.S. companies plan to increase capital expenditures over the next six months, signaling a more substantial rebound in confidence.

Capital expenditure in artificial intelligence (AI) is a significant component of this growth. According to Pitchbook data, in the first three quarters of 2025, AI-related companies accounted for nearly two-thirds (64%) of all U.S. venture capital deals. Dealmakers must also ask themselves: How will AI change M&A itself?

AI: From Pilots to Value Accelerator

Eighteen months ago, I attended a gathering of M&A professionals where generative AI's role in M&A was first discussed. The response was muted, with most people unaware of the impending transformation. When the same group reconvened this fall, however, they were all sharing their AI use cases.

Oursurvey data of dealmakersalso reflects a similar trend. Overall, the average adoption rate of generative AI in M&A this year is close to one-third (30%), up from one-quarter (24%) a year ago. Additionally, 82% of dealmakers told us that AI and advanced analytics have accelerated their pre-deal insights.

However, the vast majority of dealmakers are not applying generative AI across the full deal lifecycle. The few that do report being four times more likely to consistently capture post-merger value. This all comes before leading companies have barely moved beyond the pilot stage and before agentic AI has scaled—and agentic AI will completely transform the M&A game in 2026 and beyond.

By helping model market scenarios, identify acquisition targets, and even simulate integration paths based on real-time data, AI agents will enable teams to go beyond automation and more precisely extract risk provisions during due diligence. They can also reduce investment in low-probability deals, allowing teams to focus on transactions with the strongest value creation plans. But the greatest value potential may come after the deal closes—not only accelerating integration, but also creating greater value by redesigning organizations with agentic AI to enhance innovation capabilities.

However, only 31% of dealmakers consider their current technology adoption approach (build, buy, or partner) highly effective, presenting an opportunity for M&A professionals. Will they, like the 40% who prefer it, collaborate with external vendors to develop solutions that facilitate integration while maintaining proprietary technology? Or will they follow their private equity peers—92% of whom prefer to buy intelligent services in pursuit of speed?

What we do know is that consistently high-performing companies will embed advanced technology (including AI), teams, and ecosystem partners at the core of deal strategy and execution. In doing so, they can turn every deal into insights and experience for the next.

Five Strategies for Effective Execution in 2026

Facing a steadily more active M&A market in 2026, leaders need to prepare themselves and their organizations, leveraging AI—especially agentic solutions—to drive change, with the following measures:

1. Embed technology across the entire deal lifecycle.M&A professionals are already familiar with using AI to generate pre-deal insights, but do not let AI's advantages stop at deal closing. We expect and encourage more dealmakers to continue using AI during the integration phase.

2. Introduce agentic AI from the start.During due diligence and planning, use AI agents to analyze both parties' processes, identify redundancies, and design an optimized future operating state. Start with no-regret moves and quick wins before full deployment to refine their impact and build organizational confidence.

3. Treat integration as an innovation opportunity.Deploy autonomous AI agents to redesign core workflows (such as procure-to-pay), enabling companies to leap to best-in-class operations and drive innovation, rather than simply merging legacy systems.

4. Leverage agentic AI to drive revenue growth.Companies adopting AI-led intelligent operations achieve revenue growth and productivity that are 2.5 times and 2.4 times higher than peers, respectively. In addition to optimizing back-office processes (procurement, payments) to save costs, enhance go-to-market capabilities (such as pricing optimization) to boost revenue.

5. Engage people and invest in their AI learning.Ensure deal teams receive hands-on training in agentic AI tools, standardize and centralize deal data to unlock smarter insights, and embed AI into core activities such as screening, due diligence, and value creation planning. This foundation will support broader, more effective AI deployment.

In 2026, leaders need to act decisively and clearly to capture value. Facing a better market environment than in previous years, dealmakers must adapt to complexity, ensure strategic portfolio alignment, and accelerate AI adoption.

Success will depend on embedding technology across the deal lifecycle, reimagining integration as a catalyst for innovation, and aligning talent with new digital capabilities. In this environment, companies with both strategic agility and intelligent operations will redefine how value is captured in the next phase of M&A.