Real estate leads Spain M&A through September

Spain’s transactional market recorded a total of 2,261 mergers and acquisitions, both announced and completed, through the third quarter of 2026, with an aggregate value of €73.803 billion, according to the quarterly report by TTR Data.

These figures represent a 15% decrease in the number of transactions and a 6% decrease in transaction value compared with the same period in 2025. In the third quarter alone, the Spanish M&A market recorded 616 deals, with an aggregate value of €20.650 billion.

By sector, Real Estate was the most active sector of the year, with 510 transactions, despite a 13% decline compared with the third quarter of 2025. It was followed by Internet, Software and IT Services, with 203 transactions and a 13% year-on-year decline, and Business and Professional Support Services, which recorded 168 transactions, up 4% compared with the third quarter of 2025.

Advisors rankings

In the legal adviser ranking by transaction value, Uría Menéndez Spain ranks first, with €23.056 billion, while Cuatrecasas Spain ranks first by number of transactions, having advised on 142 deals.

TTR’s ranking of financial advisers by transaction value in the M&A market through the third quarter of 2026 is led by Goldman Sachs, with €17.638 billion in capital mobilised. By number of transactions, Norgestión ranks first, with 18 transactions.

Cross-border

In the cross-border market, through the third quarter of the year, Spanish companies’ main investment destinations were the US, Italy and the UK, with 48, 14 and 10 transactions, respectively. In terms of value, the US was the country where Spain invested the most, with an aggregate value of €12.798 billion.

Meanwhile, the US (128), France (128) and the UK (107) were the countries that made the highest number of investments in Spain during the year. In terms of value, the US stood out, with an aggregate value of €8.370 billion.

Private Equity and Venture Capital

During the first nine months of 2026, a total of 302 Private Equity transactions were recorded, 63 of which had a disclosed aggregate value of €21.630 billion. This represents a 5% decrease in the number of transactions and a 2% decrease in value compared with the same period last year.

In the Venture Capital market, 401 transactions were completed, 319 of which had a disclosed aggregate value of €6.243 billion. This represents a 21% decrease in the number of transactions compared with the same period in 2025, while the capital invested increased by 33%.

Asset acquisitions

In the asset acquisition market, 644 transactions were completed in the third quarter of the year, with a total value of €12.750 billion. This represents a 12% decrease in the number of transactions and a 39% increase in value compared with the same period in 2025.

Deal of the Quarter

For the third quarter of 2026, TTR Data selected Banco Santander’s acquisition of Webster Financial Corporation as its featured transaction.

The transaction, valued at €10.325 billion, was legally advised by Davis Polk; Deloitte Legal; Uría Menéndez; and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

Financial advisers included Centerview Partners; Goldman Sachs; Bank of America Europe; Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (SCIB); Deloitte Spain; J.P. Morgan; and Piper Sandler. Deloitte Spain advised on due diligence and the valuation report, while J.P. Morgan provided the fairness opinion.