Despite rising trade tensions and ongoing uncertainty around US policy, M&A and financing professionals remain optimistic about dealmaking in APAC. This confidence reflects the upbeat sentiment at the start of the year where 94% of respondents in the SS&C Intralinks ‘2025 APAC M&A Dealmakers Sentiment Report,’ produced with Reuters, anticipated increased deal activity, with nearly half predicting significant growth.
“This tells us there was confidence and a renewed appetite for growth,” said Alex Turner, Vice President, Sales – Asia Pacific, at SS&C Intralinks. While the report was published before the latest bout of volatility, growth in early-stage M&A and fundraising activity continues. “Dealmakers are preparing to launch projects once the market settles.”
Turner’s view reflects conducive conditions for deals – from more stable interest rates in key markets, to growth in China+1 supply-chain strategies, to plans to put dry powder to work. “As a result, we expect there will be a shift from middle-market deals to larger, high-value deals this year,” explained Turner.
At the same time, deal financing remains a key challenge, he added. “Over half of the dealmakers we surveyed expect financing conditions to become more difficult over the next year, with 28% identifying it as the most challenging aspect of dealmaking.”
This is no surprise. Today’s high-pressure environment may be more intense than ever, with economic volatility, geopolitical tensions and fragmented regulations compounding already tight deal timelines. Adding to the challenge is the exponential growth of the volume of data involved in due diligence — leaving little room for inefficiency.
A more intelligent approach to doing deals
SS&C Intralinks has spent years developing proprietary AI models and technologies to bring powerful, deal-ready innovation to its clients. In today’s environment, AI-driven insights are no longer optional — they’re essential to getting deals get done so firms can begin driving value from day one.
“Those who can move quickly while making informed choices and demonstrating control over their data and workflows gain a real competitive edge,” explained Turner.
The ability to efficiently ingest, analyse and act on an overwhelming volume of information through automation can help to alleviate many bottlenecks that have traditionally slowed down transactions, he added. “Whether it’s consolidating and analysing massive volumes of due diligence data, streamlining investor communication, or maintaining full visibility across complex deal structures, smarter workflows are enabling teams to work faster and more confidently across borders and stakeholder groups.”
Using AI is becoming essential to meet evolving expectations from investors, advisors and regulators in terms of real-time reporting and auditable transparency. In fact, 98% of respondents in the survey said they expect AI-powered tools in M&A and financing to increase in the coming year.
Yet with adoption in its early stages, the goal is to find the right partners and solutions that offer robust AI features plus align with the regulatory and security requirements of a specific industry.
“This is one of the key reasons the next generation of the SS&C Intralinks platform has been built to fully integrate AI into the tools, analytics and workflows used by dealmakers in DealCentre AI™,” said Turner.
Finding new ways to fuel fundraising
Speed and transparency have become increasingly key success factors for fundraising, too.
According to Turner, a mindset shift among fund managers has led to an increasing focus on managing the entire experience for limited partners (LPs) and other investors end-to-end, from fundraising to onboarding to reporting.
“As fundraising cycles lengthen and investor attention becomes more fragmented, general partners (GPs) need to offer a more personalised and intuitive investor experience that builds trust throughout the entire fundraising cycle,” he added.
Ultimately, the fund managers that will thrive in this environment are the ones that treat fundraising as more of a dynamic and data-informed process that moves with the investor and the market.
This will therefore meet the increasingly selective approach LPs are taking when it comes to the quality, transparency and timeliness of information they receive. “It’s that level of visibility that gives them the confidence to commit capital,” Turner added.
Living up to changing expectations
As AI becomes more embedded in dealmaking and fundraising, technology needs to feel intuitive and purposeful. Achieving this will close the gap between what Turner calls “the promise of AI and the day-to-day reality for most teams”.
This is the foundation of thoughtful guidance and partnership, aimed at achieving key goals such as:
- Giving firms clarity on what AI can do for them – by identifying which parts of a firm’s workflow can be streamlined and how changes can be rolled out without disrupting momentum.
- Engendering trust – which is vital in APAC where varied regulations make compliance non-negotiable.
- Ongoing training – to help firms unlock more value out of the tools they already use.
Underpinning the solutions, however, is a commitment to service, said Turner. “Technology is essential, but one of our most valuable differentiators is the depth of our industry expertise. Having supported trillions in transactions, our experience shapes every decision we make — and that’s what keeps us at the forefront of innovation in dealmaking.”
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Reference sources
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