Asia-Pacific spotlight
Number of Asia-Pacific buyout deals, 2020–Q3 2025
APAC PE dealmaking dropped in 2025 as GPs have stepped back to review the impact of U.S. tariff policy shifts on export- driven businesses across the region. In the first three quarters (YTD) of 2025, buyout deal volume dropped to 1,874 deals from the 1,977 that closed during the same period in 2024 – a decrease of 5.2%. Deal value was also slightly down for the period, sliding from US$112 billion in the first three quarters of 2024 to US$107.7 billion in the same period of 2025 – a drop of 3.8%. The soft headline figures for APAC, however, do not reflect the diversity of the region, and while dislocation in global trade arrangements has taken a toll on Asian dealmaking as a whole, there have been notable bright spots across the wider jurisdiction. The Japanese market, for example, has been extremely robust, as illustrated by EQT’s US$2.7 billion take-private of Japanese elevator manufacturer Fujitec and Bain Capital’s US$5.5 billion acquisition of supermarket and specialty store businesses from Seven & i Holdings, the operator of the 7-11 convenience store chain. Bain Capital has also invested actively in India, backing investments in automotive components manufacturer Dhoot Transmission and specialty lender Manappuram Finance. “Deal activity and deployment has been uneven across the region but appears to be stronger in countries like Japan and India. Overall, sponsors are cautiously optimistic, but are being very pragmatic on pricing, structure and timing,” Pedersen says. Sector watch Among industry sectors in APAC, industrials and chemicals has been a standout performer, generating a little over US$20 billion of deal value during the first three quarters of 2025 (YTD), almost double the deal value posted for the sector across the first nine months of 2024. TMT ranked as the largest sector, but deal value was down to US$20.6 billion for Q1-Q3 2025, versus the US$27.3 billion posted in the first three quarters of 2024. PMB also saw a decline in buyouts, with value down from US$14.6 billion in the first three quarters of 2024 to US$13.1 billion across the same period in 2025, even though sizeable deals in the sector continued to progress, such as KKR’s US$400 million investment in Indian healthcare group Healthcare Global Enterprises.
3,000
2,500
578
647
528
2,000
676
627
501
1,500
600
734
676
685
1,000
596
663
402
270
500
292
836
195 138 137
665
657
611
284
0
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Q1
Q2 Q3 Q4
Value of Asia-Pacific buyout deals, 2020–Q3 2025
400
350
300
ș95.0
250
200
ș112.6
ș32.3
150
ș65.9
ș35.3 ș26.7 ș35.5
ș37.9
ș43.9
100
ș86.5
ș42.8
ș50.2
ș42.4
ș28.4
ș25.8
50
ș31.7
2020 ș38.7 ș17.1
ș54.7
ș50.1
ș40.4
ș39.2
ș30.0
0
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Q1
Q2 Q3 Q4
42
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