More healthcare, digital asset M&As in S’pore expected in 2026, but mega deals on the wane

SINGAPORE – Large deals valued at over US$5 billion (S$6.4 billion) are becoming less common in Singapore, with investors and issuers placing a greater focus on creating more value from smaller mergers and acquisitions (M&As).

The sole mega deal in 2025 so far was the sale in July of Temasek’s stake in an

Indian joint venture with Schneider Electric to the French company

for $8.18 billion, after a dearth of such deals in the first half of 2025.

While US investment firm KKR & Co is expected to complete a

$6.4 billion acquisition of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres

in the coming weeks, other mega deals, such as the reported merger between Singapore’s Grab and Indonesia’s GoTo, have not progressed owing to reasons such as driver backlash and regulatory barriers.

A deal, if it takes place, is speculated to be potentially worth more than US$7 billion.

Although there were no blockbuster deals worth US$5 billion or more in the first half of 2025, the total worth of M&As involving Singapore companies reached US$35.2 billion, representing a 3.2 per cent increase from the same period in 2024, according to a July report by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

There were at least nine deals involving Singapore companies valued between US$1 billion and US$3 billion totalling US$14.9 billion in the first half of 2025, compared with five in the first half of 2024, the LSEG report revealed.

The nine deals include SG Holdings Global, a Singapore subsidiary of Japanese logistics firm SG Holdings, completing its acquisition of Taiwan freight forwarding company Morrison Express in July for US$900 million.

In June, Chinese mining company Zijin also signed a deal via its Singapore subsidiary Jinha Mining to acquire a 100 per cent stake in the Raygorodok gold mine in Kazakhstan. The deal is valued at $1.2 billion.

More deals of this size are expected, particularly in the digital infrastructure, banking and renewable energy spaces, for the rest of 2025 and in 2026, experts said.

Deal activities benefit Singapore by deepening the local equity and debt markets, attracting foreign investment, and creating high-value jobs in finance, law and advisory services.

“Companies that partner with players outside their industries in value-driven deals are also well positioned for the future, while slower-moving firms risk facing even greater pressures,” said Mr Luke Pais, Asia-Pacific private equity leader at EY.

Experts also reckon there will be greater M&A activity in 2026 despite continued uncertainty stemming from the US administration’s implementation of tariffs and other trade barriers.

Mr Vineet Mishra, head of investment banking in South-east Asia at J.P. Morgan, noted that most corporates and investors will continue to “put aside the noise” to focus on quality deals.

“While trade and supply chain-dependent businesses have faced headwinds, companies and investors have remained largely resilient and unaffected by market instability,” he said.

Ms Lorraine Wong, partner at SAC Capital, said Singapore’s strategic location and connectivity make it an ideal base for regional expansion, especially with new initiatives like the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone taking shape.

Mr Nicolo Magni, head of global banking in South-east Asia and South Asia at UBS, said financial sponsors such as buyout funds and private credit funds have also been more actively looking for deals here after the dip in activity in the first half of 2025.

“Financial sponsors are keen to deploy dry powder and seek exits for their portfolio companies,” he said.

Analysts point to the healthcare sector as a hotbed for deal activity because of stronger demand from an ageing population in Singapore.

Consolidation of healthcare services in hospitals and specialist care is already gaining traction, with growing interest in both domestic and outbound deals.

One deal that is expected to be finalised soon is the privatisation of Catalist-listed nursing home operator Econ Healthcare by American private equity firm TPG. The proposed transaction,

worth nearly $88 million

, was announced in February. Econ Healthcare halted trading a few months later in May.

The deal is now under review by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore.

A nursing home operated by Econ Healthcare. The finalisation of the Catalist-listed nursing home operator ivate equity firm TPG is expected to be finalised soon.

PHOTO: GOOGLE MAPS

The Straits Times understands that a private hospital in Singapore and a specialist healthcare group are on the market, and there is also strong interest from Singapore-based medical groups to acquire third-party administrators – firms that handle medical claims for healthcare practitioners – in neighbouring countries such as Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp on Aug 26 acquired a minority stake in Singapore’s Fullerton Health for an undisclosed sum, as part of the Japanese company’s expansion plans in South-east Asia.

Mitsubishi’s investment is also reflective of increased deal activity among Japanese companies in Singapore and South-east Asia as they seek new growth opportunities.

Bloomberg reported in August that Dai-ichi, Japan’s largest listed life insurer, is eyeing M&As in regional markets, including Singapore.

Dai-ichi’s senior managing executive officer Brett Clark said in an interview that the company aims to have larger and scaled positions in fewer Asia-Pacific markets and “avoid small and sub-scale positions in many markets”.

Its potential expansion follows Sumitomo Life’s acquisition of Singlife in 2024, in a deal valuing the Singapore insurer at $4.6 billion.

There will also be increased deal activity involving digital infrastructure in the near term, analysts said. In particular, data centres will be a hot asset.

In its financial results briefing on July 25, the manager of Keppel DC Reit said it is looking at acquiring more data centres in Europe, Japan and South Korea, with a focus on hyper-scale data centres which can process large amounts of data. It now owns 24 data centres, 16 of which are located overseas.

UBS’ Mr Magni said Singapore’s real estate investment trust (Reit) market provides a conducive platform for data centre players, offering access to a public investor base that is already familiar with the asset class.

In July, Japan’s telco giant NTT successfully launched its US$773 million initial public offering for its data centre Reit on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange.

Experts also expect more M&A deals by Singapore companies acquiring overseas infrastructure and green energy assets, with sovereign funds set to play an increasingly active role. India and Australia remain hot spots for such deal activity.

Singapore’s Temasek and GIC are expected to play a bigger role in deal financing as they look for opportunities to create scale and a global platform, experts said.

According to a 2023 report by GIC, electric utilities, renewables and transport investments made up about 60 per cent of its infrastructure portfolio.

In March, Temasek-backed asset manager 65 Equity Partners financed Swiss pharmaceutical company Healthcare Advanced Synthesis’ acquisition of Cerbios-Pharma, which is also based in Switzerland.

The combined company was

valued at about US$380 million. I

t was the first deal in Europe for the Temasek-owned investor.

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