Goldman Sachs wins Euromoney’s best bank for M&A in North America in 2025, reflecting its market leadership and advisory role across a range of high-value, complex transactions during 2024. In a recovery year, the firm increased its market share while executing some of the most significant corporate and sponsor-led transactions in the region.
Global M&A activity grew by around 15% in 2024, reaching global volumes of $3.6 trillion, though this remained below the five-year historical average. According to Goldman Sachs, market volumes as a percentage of global market capitalisation were also below long-term trends, suggesting further room for growth in 2025 and beyond.
Against this backdrop, Goldman Sachs led the North American M&A market by both deal count and volume. The firm particularly emphasised the $500 million-plus transaction segment, which it reports as comprising 80% of global M&A volume. In this category, Goldman’s lead in deal count grew from 18 transactions in 2023 to 43 in 2024, with a 175 basis points gain in market count share, contributing to an overall 340bp lead over its nearest competitor, according to the bank’s data.
One of the most significant North American mandates was Goldman Sachs’ advisory role on 3M’s $20 billion spin-off of its healthcare business. The transaction exemplified a broader trend of portfolio simplification among large-cap US corporates. “We view that as one creating a flywheel for M&A more broadly,” said David Dubner, global chief operating officer of M&A at Goldman Sachs. “Since that transaction, both 3M and the newly created healthcare company, Solventum, have engaged in additional activity and delivered strong shareholder returns.”
Goldman’s lead in deal count grew from 18 transactions in 2023 to 43 in 2024
On the sponsor side, Goldman advised Premier on its $7 billion acquisition of Squarespace, a take-private transaction. The deal was executed during a period of renewed sponsor activity, with private equity firms beginning to deploy accumulated dry powder. Goldman has also invested in building out its sponsor advisory platform, including key hires to strengthen execution capabilities in North America and Europe.
Corporate M&A accounted for approximately 70% of activity in 2024, consistent with long-term averages. Goldman Sachs attributes this to relative cost-of-capital advantages for corporates in a high-interest rate environment, as well as synergies and pressure from shareholder activism. According to the firm, the threat of activist campaigns has contributed to a continued emphasis on business simplification and divestitures.
The bank has also made key investments in specialist capabilities within its M&A practice, including areas such as activism and shareholder advisory, transactional structuring, M&A capital markets and continuation vehicles. These capabilities are designed to support clients facing increasing complexity around governance, financing, and regulatory conditions – factors that were particularly relevant in the North American market in 2024.
While market conditions remain dynamic, Goldman Sachs expects further activity in both the corporate and private equity segments in 2025: positioning itself to benefit from ongoing trends such as portfolio simplification, sponsor-led consolidation and increased capital deployment.
