Four ways to sharpen your M&A pipeline with smarter tools.

As 2025 winds down, corporate development and private equity professionals are shifting from execution to preparation. And this year, Q4 planning carries more weight than usual.  

After a slower-than-expected recovery in early 2025, dealmaking is picking up steam. Goldman Sachs expects global M&A activity to rebound sharply in 2026, potentially exceeding the $3.6 trillion peak of 2021, based on comments from global co-chair of M&A Tim Ingrassia reported by Bloomberg.

Dealmakers share that optimism. Deloitte’s 2025 M&A Trends Survey from earlier this year found that nearly three-quarters of corporate and PE executives expect average deal values to rise in the months ahead. Even more – 79% of corporates and 87% of PE firms – anticipate higher deal volumes.

With rates set to ease, exits accelerating, and dry powder at record levels, the stage is set for a highly competitive year ahead. As budgets lock in and the rebound gains momentum, now is the time to review your strategy, re-evaluate your dealmaking tools, and make sure your team is equipped to move quickly and confidently. Strategic investors who focus on these four priorities will be the most prepared to capitalize when opportunities arise.

1. Assess the health of your deal pipeline

Before expanding your deal landscape, teams should take stock of what’s already in play. How many deals are active? Where are they stalling? Are there past targets worth revisiting?

Without clarity into pipeline volume, velocity, and bottlenecks, it’s hard to set realistic goals for 2026. Purpose-built tools like Datasite Pipeline® provide a central place to capture and manage buy-side opportunities. With dashboards and custom fields to track what matters most, you can focus resources on where they’ll have the greatest impact.

2. Expand your target universe with smarter tools

Strategic investors looking to grow in 2026 need to widen their lens. Traditional data sources often overlook small- and medium-sized businesses that can be highly attractive acquisition targets. And manual research, scattered notes, and outdated spreadsheets create blind spots that slow decisions and increase risk.  

With Grata’s AI-native intelligence integrated into Pipeline, buyers can surface more opportunities while simplifying their workflow. Coverage of 19m+ companies – including family-owned operations, founder-led startups, and bootstrapped businesses – delivers the depth. Instant, built-in access – without the hassle of APIs or separate subscriptions – makes it seamless.

Having access to company firmographics, financials, executive contact details, and more, dealmakers gain broader clarity, deeper leadership insights, and a stronger competitive edge when sourcing new opportunities.

3. Align stakeholders and streamline collaboration 

Effective strategic planning isn’t just about identifying the right targets – it’s about keeping everyone aligned. Corporate development leaders need a single source of truth for Finance, Strategy, and Legal teams to evaluate deals together. Scattered notes and outdated spreadsheets create blind spots that slow decisions and increase risk. 

Pipeline centralizes notes, tasks, and updates in one secure space. The result: less risk of miscommunication, faster decision-making, and better-prepared presentations for leadership and boards. Internal coordination is a strategic advantage for fast-moving teams, and modern platforms make it possible. 

"Pipeline brings a new level of organization and precision to our M&A process. We can easily track targets, manage relationships, and access critical documents in one place. With centralized contact details, notes about each touchpoint, and tools to quickly build board updates, Pipeline helps our team stay aligned so we can move deals forward. "
— Charlie Wondergem, VP, Corporate Development (M&A) at Aspen Surgical

4. Budget for flexibility—and speed

According to KPMG’s mid-2025 M&A Pulse Survey, 71% of corporate and 65% of PE respondents expect the availability of high-quality assets to increase in the next 12 months. That surge means more opportunities – but also more rivals moving quickly. Competition for high-quality targets is likely to be intense, and deal teams will need both agility and focus to act when opportunities arise.

Pipeline helps teams make faster, better-informed decisions, even with lean resources and tight timelines. When it’s time to act, seize the moment and launch Datasite Acquire® in minutes to kick off diligence. That end-to-end continuity – from sourcing to diligence to close – protects deal integrity while accelerating execution.

The better way to M&A starts in Q4 

Firms that enter 2026 with sharper pipelines and stronger collaboration will have the edge, especially as the market turns. Whether you’re a corporate development leader or a PE buyer, now is the moment to modernize your toolkit. Be ready with smarter tools from Datasite.  

Get in touch for a personalized demo of Datasite Pipeline.