VdA, Morais Leitão and PLEN lead M&A rankings
The Portuguese transactional market recorded a total of 374 deals with an aggregate value of EUR 5,569m up to August, according to TTR Data’s monthly report. These figures represent an 11.37% decrease in the number of transactions and a 39.42% decrease in capital mobilized compared to the same period in 2024.
The Portuguese M&A market registered 154 transactions so far this year, with capital mobilized of EUR 1,374m, followed by asset acquisitions (93 deals, valued at EUR 2,640m), venture capital (77 deals, EUR 502m), and private equity transactions (50 deals, valued at EUR 1,053m).
By value, Vieira de Almeida leads the legal advisors ranking with EUR 672m, followed by Morais Leitão (EUR 522.97m) and PLEN Advogados (EUR 490m). The ranking continues with Uría Menéndez (EUR 408.82m), Garrigues Portugal (EUR 266.37m), Pérez-Llorca (EUR 182m), PLMJ (EUR 161.82m), DLA Piper (EUR 158m), SRS Legal (EUR 143.11m), and CCA Law Firm (EUR 134.75m).
In the ranking of legal advisors by number of transactions, Cuatrecasas leads in 2025 up to August with 26 deals, followed by CCA Law Firm with 25 transactions, and Morais Leitão with 23. The top 10 is completed by PLMJ (22), Garrigues Portugal (20), SRS Legal (17), CS’Associados (17), Vieira de Almeida (10), Proença de Carvalho (10), and Abreu Advogados (6).
Dealmakers of the year
The leading dealmaker partner of the year so far is, once again, Catarina Tavares Loureiro (Uría), who ranks first by value with EUR 330.50m in capital mobilized. She is followed by Vitor Pereira das Neves (Morais Leitão), João Louro e Costa (Uría), and Tânia Luísa Faria (Uría) in second place with EUR 178.50m, and Jorge Simões Cortez (Morais Leitão) in third with EUR 172m.
By number of transactions, Domingos Cruz (CCA Law Firm), Bernardo Abreu Mota (CS’Associados), and Paulo Bandeira (SRS Legal) rank among the top three, with 17, 13, and 12 transactions respectively.
Cross-border deals
In August 2025, Portuguese companies chose Spain, the United States, and Brazil as their main investment destinations, with 22, 13, and 8 outbound acquisitions respectively. The total value of outbound acquisitions reached EUR 1,961.86m up to August. On the other hand, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom were the main sources of foreign investment in Portugal. Inbound acquisitions year-to-date total EUR 997.56m.
Sectors
By sector, real estate was the most active in 2025, with 63 transactions, representing a 2% increase compared to the same period last year. In second place, internet, software, and IT services accounted for 41 deals.
The report also publishes the 2025 financial and legal advisor rankings in M&A, private equity, venture capital, and capital markets, highlighting the activity of leading firms by both number of transactions and value.
