In 2025, despite trade wars and a difficult international situation, companies are ready to invest billions of dollars in mergers and acquisitions to grow their businesses, especially during the traditionally quiet summer months. According to Bloomberg, the value of M&A deals grew by 20% this year, reaching $2.2 trillion. The total value of summer deals also reached a new high, amounting to $100 billion in the US industrial sector alone, which leads the M&A market.
Finam provides an overview of key mergers and acquisitions in 2025.
Union Pacific will acquire Norfolk Southern for $85 billion
In late July, US railroad company Union Pacific Corp. agreed to acquire its smaller competitor Norfolk Southern Corp. for $85 billion, including debt. This is the largest deal in the railroad industry and the largest merger of 2025.
The purchase of Norfolk Southern will enable Union Pacific to create the first transcontinental railroad network in the United States. Both companies expect their merger to generate $2.75 billion in “annual synergies.”
The companies are just waiting for the deal to be approved, but workers and unions are already sounding the alarm, saying the merger will hurt jobs, prices, and energy supplies, and increase the risk of toxic emissions. Opponents of the merger argue that anything that expands the capabilities of freight rail carriers makes them more profitable and also increases the level of pressure they can exert, especially on workers.
Seven industry groups representing shippers, including the National Industrial Transportation League, the American Chemistry Council, and the Freight Rail Customer Alliance, also opposed further mergers of railroad companies, saying they already have too much market power.
Palo Alto Networks will buy CyberArk for $25 billion
In July, US cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks made the biggest bet in its history, agreeing to buy Israeli data security company CyberArk for approximately $25 billion. For years, Palo Alto Networks deliberately avoided the identity management business. And for good reason: convincing customers to abandon their identity systems and replace them is no easy task. Unlike firewalls or endpoint tools, identity systems are linked to HR databases, cloud platforms, legacy infrastructure, and application access levels, making them difficult to deploy and monetize at scale.
CyberArk will help companies tackle these challenges. CyberArk not only deals with identification, but also helps corporations cope with the proliferation of identification data that needs to be protected.
Keurig Dr Pepper acquires JDE Peet's for $18 billion
In August, it was announced that the American beverage and coffee machine manufacturer Keurig Dr Pepper had decided to acquire the Dutch coffee and tea producer DE Peet's NV for $18 billion. Keurig Dr Pepper plans to split its coffee and soft drink divisions into two independent companies next year, whose shares will be listed on the US stock exchange after the deal is completed. The company made this decision to support its coffee business, which has declined due to increased competition in the US and rising coffee bean prices. Keurig Dr Pepper's other beverages are in high demand.
JDE Peet's owns more than 50 coffee and tea brands worldwide, including L'OR, Peet's, and Jacobs. According to Bloomberg, after the news of the deal was announced, Keurig Dr Pepper's shares fell 8.9% in New York, the most significant intraday drop in the last five years. S&P analysts warned that they may downgrade the company's credit rating due to plans to significantly increase debt to complete the complex two-stage deal. JDE Peet's shares, on the other hand, increased by as much as 18% in Amsterdam.
Zuckerberg's company to acquire Scale AI for $14.3 billion
In June, Meta confirmed that Scale AI founder and CEO Alexander Wang would join the company to work on developing artificial intelligence. As part of the deal, the social media giant will invest $14.3 billion in the startup and receive a 49% stake in Scale AI.
The startup specializes in labeling data for training and evaluating AI models. Tech giants such as OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft use Scale AI's services.
Zuckerberg is strategically forming a new research laboratory to study “superintelligence” capable of surpassing human intelligence. His corporation is also participating in the AI race and strives to keep up with competitors who are investing billions of dollars in the development of this technology.
Baker Hughes will buy Chart Industries for $13.6 billion
At the end of July, it was announced that US oil and gas equipment supplier Baker Hughes will buy industrial gas equipment manufacturer Chart Industries for $13.6 billion. The purchase is expected to expand the giant's oilfield services business through liquefied natural gas.
Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simoneelli is reorganizing the company to adapt to the global energy transition by divesting non-core assets and investing in more environmentally friendly energy solutions. According to the Financial Times, Chart Industries terminated its $19 billion merger agreement with rival Flowserve in order to pursue the deal with Baker Hughes.
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