NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- H/Advisors Abernathy, a leading strategic communications advisor, today released its sixth annual research and analysis of pre-announcement leaks of M&A transactions announced in 2025 in the U.S.

H/Advisors Abernathy’s proprietary research – ‘Active Market, Fewer Secrets: When Deals Spring a Leak Volume VI’ – provides corporate leaders, Boards of Directors and M&A advisors with key insights and trends from the past year of dealmaking.

In 2025, transaction volume increased significantly for the second straight year, as market conditions improved and companies revisited M&A opportunities. Building on the firm’s proprietary database of M&A transactions, our team analyzed announced transactions valued at $1 billion and greater to understand the frequency at which deals leak and how a leak may affect perception of the transaction among media and digital audiences. Our findings underscored that not only did deals leak at the highest rate since H/Advisors Abernathy began tracking this data, with 42% of transactions last year leaking ahead of an official announcement, they are leaking earlier. On average deals leaked 72 days in advance of the official announcement, up 20 days from 2024.

“More than four out of every ten transactions in 2025 were reported by the media prior to an official announcement. Perhaps even more challenging is the increased risk of an early-stage leak. Given these dynamics, leak preparedness is no longer optional but is instead a prerequisite for successful dealmaking in a media environment where reporters are incentivized to break news early and often,” said Carina Davidson, Interim CEO of H/Advisors Abernathy. “A well-designed leak strategy should be tailored to each party’s stakeholders to best support a path to successful close while protecting company commercial momentum and credibility.”

Additional key findings from When Deals Spring a Leak Volume VI include:

• M&A activity intensified: 678 deals of $1B or greater were announced in 2025, a 33% increase YoY.

• While larger deals continue to leak in higher numbers, smaller deals are leaking more than ever.

• Leaks are occurring earlier in the deal process, on average, 72 days in advance of an announcement, a 20-day increase compared to 2024.

• Deals in high visibility industries: such as Entertainment, Leisure and Media face the highest leak risk, as over two-thirds of deals for companies and assets in those sectors leaked before an official announcement, up for the second consecutive year. Half of Technology deals leaked in 2025 while Healthcare and pharmaceuticals deals leaked 45% of the time as public interest in these sectors remains very high.

• Deals involving international targets are more likely to leak.

• Leaked deals received four times the volume of negative commentary online (both across news and social media platforms) than those that did not leak.

The full report is available for download using this link: https://bit.ly/HAA_MA_leaks_2026

H/Advisors Abernathy consistently ranks as a top M&A advisor in the U.S. and globally, providing clients with a combination of deep transactional experience and sophisticated, data and trend driven insights into deal communications. The firm has advised on more than 1,200 transactions in the past decade, including more than 394 transactions in 2025 and an aggregate value of more than $530 billion over the past five years. Across our M&A engagements, we connect our leading research capabilities with our strategic counsel, offering bespoke services that meet our clients’ needs for comprehensive transaction and stakeholder communications services across all channels.

About H/Advisors Abernathy

A trusted communications advisor, H/Advisors Abernathy specializes in advising CEOs, board directors and senior executives on effective stakeholder communications and engagement. For over 40 years, the firm has been entrusted by clients across sectors to help build, protect, and enhance their reputation, overcome challenges, and seize new opportunities. H/Advisors Abernathy operates from offices in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C. as a core member of H/Advisors, global strategic communications experts dedicated to enhancing reputation and building trust to fulfill ambitions. Founded in 2001, H/Advisors employs 1,500+ multi-disciplinary experts in 40+ offices across Europe, America, APAC and the Middle East.

For more information, please visit https://abernathy.h-advisors.global.

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Contact

Angela Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Director of Marketing
H/Advisors Abernathy
Angela.gonzalez-rodriguez@h-advisors.global