Mergers and acquisitions in Portugal fell 28% in number of contracts between January and August, totaling 327 operations that moved 5.4 billion euros, representing a 59% drop in value compared to the same period last year. August was particularly weak, with only 18 operations, less than half of those recorded in August 2025. Of the total deals, 287 were completed and about one third had the price disclosed.
The real estate sector stood out in transactions, followed by technology and business support services. However, it was in the energy sector that the most relevant deals were recorded, with the purchase of EDP Renováveis Brasil by EDP Brasil for about 700 million euros and Galp's acquisition of 15 wind farms in Spain from Acciona Energía, valued at 420 million euros.
In the health sector, Healthcare Activos purchased three hospitals in Lisbon, Porto and Albufeira for 250 million euros, which are being operated by the Lusíadas Saúde group. The Spanish company, whose largest shareholder is the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, already had investments exceeding 100 million euros in Portugal. The Portuguese company Sword Health purchased German competitor Kaia Health for 285 million dollars and plans to acquire mental health company Headspace for between 200 and 300 million dollars.
Regarding venture capital, the most relevant round counted on the participation of Portuguese Indico Capital Partners, which invested 130 million euros in Spanish language learning platform Preply, which achieved unicorn status. The Portuguese M&A market needs mega-deals in the plastic, aviation or water sectors to reverse the downward trend by year-end.
