According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, thousands of mergers and acquisitions happen each year, and one region that is particularly active is North Texas. 

“DFW is doing great. We’ve seen a lot of deals happening, which is the result of growing companies,” says Eric Burgess, partner, transaction services practice, Grant Thornton.  

Eric Burgess

These could be founder-led companies that need help getting to the next level, or corporations that have shown they’re healthy and well-run. But he says, because of actions by the Fed and our own memories, there’s a perception that M&A activity has taken a hit. 

“From 2023 to roughly the first half of 2024, we had more uncertainty — rising interest rates, geopolitical issues globally. That did cause a slight pullback in the M&A market,” says Burgess. 

He says that might have appeared larger when compared to activity from 2022, which was a record year because of the Fed’s actions. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provided nearly $2 trillion in economic stimulus in the form of checks to citizens, unemployment benefits, tax-related provisions, and more.” 

“For many companies, 2022 was their best year ever.” 

But he says that was a moment in time, not the start of a new trend — something that had to be proven to the market.  

“Interest rates have also been influential — and again, it’s about perspective. The rates we saw from about 2009 to 2022 were abnormally low. If you look at the last hundred years or so, where we are now is more in line with historical averages. And since July, we’ve seen a big uptick in deals; our team has been really busy.” 

Polling locations report a record number of early voters, which analysts interpret to try to predict the outcome, but Burgess says that no matter who wins the presidency, it shouldn’t impact the strength of dealmaking. 

“I think regardless of who wins, you are going to see a strong 2025 in the M&A market.” 

Nicole Ward is a data journalist at the Dallas Regional Chamber. The DRC is a Dallas Innovates partner.