Global M&A trends in energy, utilities, and resources

Structurally higher energy demand and the need for energy resilience are accelerating global M&A in the power and utilities sector, with an increasing focus on domestic and localised generation. Deal value increased by approximately 57% from 2024 to 2025, and this trend is expected to continue in 2026, supported by continued interest in large-scale, capacity-driven transactions.

The ‘all of the above’ energy imperative

Meeting rising power demand while balancing resilience, decarbonisation, affordability, and grid stability is pushing investors towards diversified portfolios with traditional power generation, renewables, storage, and grid-enabling assets. Within this “all of the above” strategy, conventional power remains critical for capacity and flexibility, with natural gas firmly re-established as a transition and backstop fuel through gas-fired generation and LNG infrastructure. Grid-scale energy storage and behind-the-metre solutions are also attracting growing investor interest, as increasingly variable electricity demand and data centre energy requirements place a premium on reliability, flexibility, and localised supply. Renewables continue to add capacity in many markets, but policy shifts and integration constraints are causing delays and repricing in some areas, while nuclear is regaining strategic relevance as energy companies, utilities, and investors pursue partnerships and selective exposure to emerging technologies such as small modular reactors.

Value creation is increasingly centred on strategic partnerships and platform-led transactions, including co-location with generation, long-term contracted power purchase agreements, virtual power plants, take-privates, and carveouts. Diligence is becoming more location-specific, with a sharper focus on regulatory frameworks, power pricing dynamics, and the balance between contracted and merchant exposure.

Preference for stake-ready, grid-connected assets

Dealmakers are prioritising contracted, operating, or grid-connected assets that can deliver near-term capacity. Transmission remains a bottleneck, drawing capital into interregional lines, congestion relief and advanced grid technologies to derisk interconnection queues. Assets with regulated or contracted cash flows continue to attract a premium, reflecting their predictable revenues and cost-recovery profile.

Recent transactions illustrate this shift, including Constellation Energy’s approximately $16.4bn acquisition of Calpine, which aims to create the US’s largest competitive power generator, and NRG Energy’s approximately $12bn acquisition of a portfolio of natural gas power plants and a virtual power plant platform to bring incremental capacity to their commercial and industrial customers.

Regional trends spotlight

• Middle East: Sovereign wealth funds, national oil companies, and state-backed entities continue to deploy capital across renewables, with natural gas playing a transition role. Investment opportunities are emerging at the intersection of power, AI-related infrastructure, and low-carbon technologies, such as hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage.
• Asia Pacific: Japan is scaling investment to meet rising electricity demand from digital and industrial growth, targeting both renewables and nuclear, while China continues to add coal capacity. Australia’s coal phase-out is driving large-scale renewables and battery energy storage system opportunities, with M&A potential across platform expansions.
• North America: Deal volumes are expected to remain robust, with capital increasingly directed towards transmission, storage, and grid-enabling technologies that support reliability and renewables integration.
• Europe: Policy and pricing uncertainty has shifted activity towards secondary trades and rebalancing balance sheets. This is expected to continue in 2026, with targeted M&A activity in district energy networks, utilities, grid modernisation, metering, and energy management technologies.

Changing power consumption patterns linked to digital and industrial growth are reshaping oil and gas M&A in 2026, with natural gas and LNG moving back to the centre of strategic planning. While OPEC+’s decision to pause further production increases through the first quarter of 2026 has kept oil prices range-bound, the markets still face downside risk, reinforcing the need for capital discipline. Despite this uncertainty, dealmaking is expected to remain resilient in 2026 as investors prioritise assets that offer scale, infrastructure optionality, and stable cash flows to support evolving energy requirements.

The reemergence of gas and LNG

The rapid expansion of data centres and digital infrastructure is accelerating demand for dispatchable energy, repositioning natural gas as a critical solution by delivering scalable, dispatchable energy where renewables alone cannot meet the demand. Producers are acquiring low-cost gas assets to secure feedstock for LNG exports, while infrastructure investors are targeting gathering systems, processing facilities, and export terminals near major data and industrial corridors. In 2025, Baker Hughes announced its agreement to acquire Chart Industries for $13.6bn, aiming to deepen its exposure to high-growth markets such as data centres, space, and new energy. Accelerating LNG strategies are driving more integrated plays linking upstream supply, midstream processing, and export capacity. Midstream M&A activity remains strong as companies aim to secure infrastructure, processing, and export optionality tied to long-term gas and LNG demand growth. Global demand from Europe, Asia, and energy-intensive digital infrastructure is reinforcing LNG’s role as both a commercial and geopolitical asset, illustrated by Golden Pass LNG, a $10bn QatarEnergy–ExxonMobil project that aims to convert an existing import terminal into a major LNG export hub on the US Gulf Coast.

Regional trends spotlight

• US: Oil and gas M&A is expected to remain active in 2026, buoyed by pro-development policy and reopened LNG permitting. Following two years of megadeals, shale consolidation has shifted towards disciplined mid-cap transactions focused on inventory depth, operational synergies, and cash flow resilience. This trend is reflected in transactions such as SM Energy’s announced combination with Civitas Resources within the oil and gas subsector.
• Canada: Natural gas continues to play a central role as a transition fuel, supporting gas-fired generation and pipeline expansion. Cross-border interest from strategic investors, including sovereigns and oil majors, is expected to continue as buyers seek to build or access gas and LNG platforms with global reach.
• Japan: High reliance on imported fuels is driving continued focus on securing reliable and cost-effective LNG supply, including through long-term contracting.
• Nordics: North Sea oil and gas is already materially consolidated, limiting further large-scale M&A, although selective activity is expected as buyers explore strategic repositioning opportunities; biogas is an area to watch over the next 12 months.
• UK: The Energy Profits Levy continues to pose a headwind to dealmaking activity, with high marginal tax rates on North Sea oil and gas profits weighing on investment appetite.
• Africa: Global majors are selectively rationalising oil and gas portfolios through divestments of mature or non-core assets, creating opportunities for regional players and financial investors.

Mining and metals M&A is expected to remain active in 2026, underpinned by the sector’s central role in energy resilience and broader global megatrends around geopolitics and digital transformation. While short-term price volatility and policy uncertainty have at times widened valuation gaps between buyers and sellers, long-term fundamentals remain strong, supporting a positive outlook for deal activity in 2026 as companies and governments prioritise secure access to critical resources.

Megatrends driving strategic realignment

Rising defence budgets and geopolitical uncertainty are increasing demand for minerals critical to national security such as rare earths, tungsten, titanium, and uranium, reinforcing gold’s safe-haven role and supporting sustained investor interest. At the same time, energy transition and electrification continue to drive demand for copper, lithium, and nickel, while digital transformation and data centre expansion are accelerating the need for copper and specialty minerals. Together, these dynamics are prompting governments to realign policies and miners to adjust strategies towards resilience and growth. In 2026 we expect M&A activity to focus on consolidation, supply chain security, and investment in high-quality, long-life assets.

Rare earths bring geopolitical complexity to deals

Rare earth elements are increasingly becoming a strategic focus for governments and dealmakers, given their critical role in advanced defence systems, clean energy technologies, and digital infrastructure. Global supply remains highly concentrated, with China controlling a significant share of mining, processing, and refining capacity, creating significant supply chain vulnerabilities for energy transition and national security agendas.

This concentration introduces a distinct layer of geopolitical risk into rare earth–related M&A. Export controls, trade policy, and diplomatic tensions can influence access to supply, elevating the importance of jurisdiction, ownership structures and downstream processing capabilities in transaction assessments. As a result, rare earth deals are increasingly shaped by not only asset quality and economics but also government intervention, strategic partnerships, and alignment with national security and industrial policy objectives. We expect this dynamic to continue influencing transaction structures, cross-border investment, and valuation considerations across the EU&R landscape in 2026.

Gold dominates

Gold deals continue to dominate M&A activity by volume, supported by elevated prices and strong access to capital, with silver benefitting from its dual role as a precious metal and industrial input for energy transition technologies. This build up in activity, particularly across Australian and Canadian targets in 2025, is expected to continue in 2026, reinforced by the announcement in November 2025 of the year’s largest gold transaction: Coeur Mining’s proposed $7bn acquisition of New Gold.

Copper and other critical minerals gain strength

Copper is likely to remain a key focus for investment due to its role as a core enabler of electrification and infrastructure development. This is underscored by Anglo American’s planned merger with Teck Resources, with the aim of creating a leading copper-focused group. In addition to the Anglo Teck deal, there have been several other potential mega-mergers focused on securing copper assets. Most recently, in January 2026, Glencore and Rio Tinto jointly announced that the two companies have been engaging in preliminary discussions regarding a possible combination of some or all of their businesses.

Beyond copper, investor interest is accelerating in lesser-known critical minerals, such as gallium and germanium. Amid tighter export controls and supply chain vulnerabilities, governments are increasingly intervening through incentives, direct investment, and offtake support to secure domestic supply.

Regional trends spotlight

• North America and Australia: Government-backed initiatives in the US, Canada and Australia are catalysing deal flow by derisking critical mineral projects and supporting domestic production through funding, incentives, and strategic partnerships.
• Europe: European governments are selectively supporting investments in critical mineral assets, including evaluating minority stakes, as part of broader efforts to strengthen energy and industrial resilience.
• UK: The UK, under the government’s Industrial Strategy, is seeking to expand domestic production and leverage international partnerships, with potential opportunities across mining, refining, and recycling.
• South America: South America remains a hot spot for copper and lithium M&A, as governments balance resource nationalism with the need to attract foreign capital and technology.
• Africa: Africa is emerging as a strategic hub for critical minerals, with increasing foreign investment and offtake-linked transactions, particularly from Asia and the Middle East, as companies seek to secure battery and energy-transition supply chains.

Chemicals M&A in 2026 is expected to continue to revolve around portfolio simplification, particularly through non-core divestitures in Europe and North America. Deal activity is expected in three distinct lanes: growth-oriented investments in specialty materials aligned to energy transition and the AI economy; a reactivating middle market; and restructuring-driven transactions among commodity players facing sustained cost and demand pressures.

With funding costs still elevated, both private equity firms and strategic buyers are maintaining capital discipline and prioritising opportunities with strong cash conversion, operational upside, and integration-ready platforms. Partnerships are increasingly part of the playbook; increased collaboration between financial sponsors and strategics is helping accelerate value creation in complex carveouts and separations.

Carveouts make a comeback

Large, complex carveouts are re-emerging as a central feature of chemicals M&A in 2026, with major players including BASF, BP, Corteva, and Occidental advancing divestitures and spin-offs as part of broader portfolio rationalisation strategies. Buyers are attracted to these opportunities for their scale and strategic fit, but execution remains critical; stand-up readiness, stranded-cost management, and integration planning will be central to achieving value.

Specialty chemicals for energy transition and the AI economy

Specialty chemicals are attracting investor interest as essential building blocks for advances in AI infrastructure, energy resilience, and the energy transition. Dealmakers are expected to target downstream specialties linked to water treatment, filtration, and cooling for data centres, as well as advanced materials for semiconductors, renewables, and batteries. Mid-market roll-ups are gaining traction, particularly in water treatment and battery-related chemicals, while mid-cap producers continue to divest legacy assets to unlock liquidity. Acquisition hot spots include specialty formulations, distribution platforms, and regional bolt-ons that enhance feedstock flexibility or expand customer reach.

Cost pressures and restructuring

Commodity chemicals producers, particularly in Europe, continue to face pressure from global competition, high energy costs, and weak demand, driving restructuring and asset sales. Global oversupply and mixed downstream demand are compressing margins, leading many chemicals companies to prioritise cost-reduction initiatives and investment focused on efficiency, automation, and technology enhancements rather than expansionary M&A.

Regional trends spotlight

• Europe: Continued strategic portfolio realignment will result in divestitures and even discontinuation of non-core assets as producers take measures to secure long-term competitiveness. This is illustrated by Arkema’s proposed divestment of some of its plastic additives business to Praana and Solvay’s plans to cease production of certain trifluoroacetic acid–related organics and some of its inorganics product lines in 2026.
• North America: Deal flow remains selective as petrochemical producers navigate mixed downstream demand and margin pressure. Assets with technology differentiation and advantaged cost positions are best placed to attract investor interest, illustrated by the recently announced merger between AkzoNobel and Axalta Coating Systems, which aims to expand their position in the global coatings and capture operational synergies.
• Asia Pacific and the Middle East: Cross-border M&A activity is expected to increase, with investments that combine chemical integration with energy transition logic, advantaged feedstock access, and global scale, as seen in ADNOC’s agreed merger with OMV and planned acquisition of NOVA Chemicals.