M&A activity rises in 2026, driven by a few sectors

Merger filings submitted to CADE reached 482 transactions between January and July 2026, 28 more than in the same period of 2025. The 6.2% increase, however, does not represent a uniform recovery. Most of the growth came from logistics, construction and real estate, while energy and professional services lost activity.

Transportation and logistics alone added 21 transactions, equivalent to 75% of the net growth in the period. Construction and real estate each added ten. In the opposite direction, electricity and gas recorded 13 fewer filings and professional and technical services, seven fewer.

Composition also matters. M&A transactions rose from 356 to 379, an increase of 23 deals. Asset purchases and swaps totalled 101 filings, against 98 in 2025. Two filings were classified as other. More than 80% of the net growth therefore came from mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other corporate moves, not from simple asset transfers.

Manufacturing shifts from assets to corporate acquisitions

Manufacturing remained practically stable, with 111 filings against 112 in 2025. Its composition, however, changed meaningfully.

Industrial M&A rose from 85 to 91 transactions. In the opposite direction, asset purchases fell from 27 to 19. The sector did not lose corporate activity; it simply carried out fewer transactions concentrated in isolated assets.

There were 53 filings between companies in the same market, the highest number across all sectors. Another 29 involved a change of controlling shareholder or investor without relevant overlap, and 14 connected participants at different stages of the production chain.

Raw sugar manufacturing recorded five transactions. Dairy and auto parts recorded four each. Fertilisers, animal feed and paper manufacturing recorded three each.

Financial services hold volume

Financial services and insurance recorded 73 filings, two more than in 2025. M&A remained stable at 65 deals, while asset transactions rose from six to eight.

The competitive composition was more distributed than in other sectors: 19 filings mainly represented a change of controlling shareholder or investor, 18 occurred between participants in the same market and 12 connected different activities of the financial chain.

Energy loses momentum in acquisitions

Electricity and gas fell from 52 to 39 filings. The decline of 13 deals came entirely from two fronts: nine fewer M&A transactions and four fewer asset purchases.

Corporate acquisitions fell from 40 to 31. Asset acquisitions went from five to just one. Joint ventures remained stable at seven.

Among the 2026 filings, 17 involved participants active in the same market, a common feature of consolidation. Five connected companies from different links of the chain, such as generators, traders, suppliers or infrastructure operators. Another 14 did not allow such a direct competitive reading.

Power generation was the main operating subsector mapped, with at least 16 transactions. Energy trading recorded four. Transmission, bioenergy and biomass, LNG, and generation and infrastructure recorded one each.

Technology grows with software and telecommunications

Information and communication rose from 27 to 32 filings. M&A grew modestly, from 26 to 27, while asset purchases went from one to five.

Of the 32 transactions in 2026, 20 involved participants in the same market, indicating activity predominantly geared towards consolidation. Custom software and multimedia communication services recorded five filings each. Artificial intelligence, off-the-shelf software and fixed telephony recorded two each.

The increase in asset purchases shows that part of the movement did not occur only through the acquisition of entire companies. Portfolios, platforms, infrastructure and other specific assets also gained presence.

Logistics is no longer a supporting act

The jump in logistics, from 11 to 32 filings, was the most relevant movement of the period. M&A transactions went from ten to 29, while asset purchases rose from one to three.

The breakdown of the filings helps explain the nature of this advance. Sixteen were classified by CADE as moves between companies operating in the same market. In economic terms, these are consolidation deals, in which one operator buys, absorbs or partners with another participant in the same activity. Another five mainly involved a change of controlling shareholder or investor, without relevant competitive overlap.

Scheduled passenger air transport was the most active subsector, with five transactions. Offshore support shipping and maritime transport recorded three each. Port operators and offshore maritime services recorded two each.

This is not the picture of a single large transaction distorting the base. Activity appears across aviation, ports, shipping and maritime services. There were 19 acquisitions, five associative contracts, three joint ventures, three asset acquisitions, one merger and one absorption.

Construction and real estate advance together, by different routes

Construction and real estate each added ten filings. In both cases, growth was split between corporate moves and asset transactions.

In construction, M&A rose from 16 to 20 filings, while asset purchases increased from two to eight. Real estate development accounted for 21 of the sector's 28 filings. Building construction recorded four.

In real estate, M&A and assets split the 24 filings of 2026 evenly, with 12 each. Rental of own properties recorded six transactions and property trading, five. Another ten were associated with real estate funds and one with a holding company.

This composition suggests two simultaneous movements. There is consolidation and corporate reorganisation, but also direct purchases of properties, projects and stakes in developments. In construction, 15 filings occurred between participants in the same market. In real estate, 18 did, reinforcing the weight of moves among companies, funds and vehicles already present in the sector.

Professional services show less appetite for consolidation

Professional and technical services fell from 19 to 12 filings. The movement was entirely explained by M&A, which went from 17 to ten transactions. Asset purchases remained stable at two.

Of the 12 filings in 2026, nine involved companies operating in the same market. Even with lower volume, the sector continued to show deals with a consolidation profile. The difference is that fewer buyers advanced on competitors or companies with similar offerings.

Management consulting recorded three transactions and geological studies, two. Engineering services, industrial property, advertising, business intermediation, consulting and technology, and decarbonisation solutions recorded one each.

The decline was sharper in acquisitions, which fell from 15 to nine. There was also one joint venture and two asset purchases.

Deals submitted to CADE do not represent every transaction carried out in Brazil. JK Capital tracks merger filings submitted to CADE and publishes the CADE Radar monthly, organising buyers, targets, economic groups, sectors, subsectors and deal structures. The Radar covers transactions subject to antitrust review, generally those involving economic groups with revenues above the thresholds set by law. The base therefore offers a relevant view of larger moves or those made by more representative buyers, but does not capture smaller transactions that fall below notification criteria.

In the subsector analysis, only the most active operating segments in 2026 are presented. No comparisons with 2025 were made, since holdings, funds and investment vehicles may be correctly assigned to a sector without revealing the operating business they control. Source: CADE Radar, JK Capital. Data from January to July 2025 and 2026. Methodological note: for this analysis, acquisitions, mergers, absorptions, joint ventures, associative contracts, corporate reorganisations and association formations were grouped under M&A. Asset acquisitions, leases and swaps were grouped under assets. Joint venture dissolutions and contract terminations were classified as other. These groupings are used only for the editorial reading of the base and do not replace the original structure of each transaction.