The volume of merger and acquisition (M&A) operations in private markets has skyrocketed between 2023 and 2025, rising from $13,000 to $27,200 million (€23,920 million), which means doubling its value and supports a business in which assets under management will grow by around 12% annually over the next five years, compared to the 8% expected for listed markets, according to the report "The Race for Scale in Private Markets".
This strong rebound is leading managers to intensify their corporate movements with the aim of gaining size, expanding capabilities, and consolidating their position in one of the fastest-growing niches within the global asset management industry.
From Oliver Wyman, they point out that traditional asset classes "remain under pressure" due to reduced fees and a more moderate advance, which has driven private markets to acquire an increasingly strategic weight in large firms and become "one of the most active areas" in M&A operations.
Despite this dynamism, the consultancy emphasizes that the sector remains "very fragmented": 97% of private equity managers, 87% of private credit, and 95% of real estate manage less than $5,000 million in assets, which evidences the atomization of the market.
At the same time, capital raising is increasingly concentrated in a small group of managers. Actors with more than $10,000 million under management have gone from gathering 42% of global capital between 2000 and 2005 to 54% in the last five years, reflecting an environment that rewards the breadth of platforms and their high degree of institutionalization.
Three drivers of consolidation in private markets
Oliver Wyman identifies scale as the first major driver of consolidation. It ceases to be a mere advantage to become a "prerequisite" that allows for deploying more extensive commercial networks, attracting and retaining talent better, and having the necessary infrastructure in terms of risks, regulatory compliance, and portfolio operations that large institutional investors demand.
The second factor is the breadth of the offer. The consulting firm highlights that the 20 largest managers have multiplied their average number of active products by six since 2005, integrating 'private equity' and 'private debt' solutions to accompany clients throughout the economic cycle and adjust strategies to different risk and return profiles.
As a third element, the report points to the ability to analyze and manage investments consistently across all phases of the cycle. This skill gains relevance in a context of tightening credit conditions in certain segments and in light of the significant volume of refinancing expected over the next two or three years.
In this framework, transactions rely on five key levers: revenue growth, margin improvement through the elimination of overlaps, increase in valuation multiples, participation in performance fees, and achieving better results for investors.
However, the document warns that growth through acquisitions "does not guarantee better results on its own," as only half of the operations in the asset management sector achieve a measurable improvement in the cost-income ratio.
The corporate combinations that have generated sustained value share several traits: a clear strategic thesis from the outset, a pre-designed integration plan, and careful management of talent and the culture of the acquired entity, decisive aspects in an industry where a good part of the value resides in professional teams.
"Private markets have entered a new phase of consolidation in which scale is no longer a competitive advantage, but a necessary condition for growth," noted Martín Sánchez, partner of Private Capital at Oliver Wyman, in this regard.
Additionally, Sánchez added that as fundraising becomes concentrated and investors demand increasingly broad and sophisticated solutions, "we will see how competitive advantages concentrate in an ever-reducing number of platforms capable of combining scale, specialization, and diversification."