The volume of the M&A market with a threshold of $1 million in the first half of 2026 increased significantly compared to the result of the same period last year. This is stated in the bulletin "Market of Mergers and Acquisitions" of the AK&M News Agency (issue No. 340).
The total value of transactions in the six reporting months increased by 31.6%, amounting to $24.07 billion against $18.3 billion a year earlier.
At the same time, the number of transactions decreased: 181 transactions took place in the reporting period, compared with 198 (-8.6%) a year earlier. In ruble terms, the amount of transactions increased by 17.9% to 1.795 trillion rubles from 1.523 trillion rubles.
The average transaction cost (excluding the largest) increased by 17.2% to $79.1 million from $67.5 million (excluding the largest) in the same period of 2025.
The trend towards nationalization of private companies continues. In the first half of the year, AK&M analysts noted 15 such transactions for a record $10.16 billion, or 42.2% of the value of all transactions in the first half of the year.
At the same time, most of the assets are agricultural enterprises. AK&M analysts noted five such transactions in the first six months of 2026, including the largest transaction, the nationalization of Rusagro, one of Russia's leading agricultural holdings, estimated at $7.737 billion for the court. This asset transfer accounted for almost a third of the M&A market volume in the first half of 2026 (32.1%).
Two more major deals worth more than $1 billion were also recorded in the first half of the year. The second largest was the sale of a previously nationalized large gold miner, Yuzhuralzoloto. The buyer was Ruslan Baysarov's BTS-Most Holding, the transaction value was $1.198 billion.
The third place was taken by the nationalization of assets by court decision, which took place in agriculture, fisheries, and fish farming — the court transferred the grain producer and grain trader Krasnodarzernoprodukt to the state, the asset was estimated by the court at $1.05 billion.
At the same time, in the first half of 2026, a number of resales of previously nationalized large assets were completed.
So, in February, the sale of Domodedovo airport was completed at auction. It was acquired by Arkady Rotenberg's structures for $873.2 million. In June, the assets of Raven Russia, which had been put up for sale for a long time, were sold. They were bought at auction by Belaya Skala Management Company for $607 million. The portfolio sold at auction includes four facilities in the St. Petersburg agglomeration. These are the Kellermann Center business center on 10th Krasnoarmeyskaya and three speech parks: Gorigo in Gorelovo, Pulkovo on Pulkovskoye Highway and Shushary on Moskovskoye Highway.
At the same time, all the companies resold by the state did not sell on the first attempt, and the price for them was reduced several times.
Also in the first half of the year, the state sold the previously nationalized Sayanskkhimplast JSC to the Rosneft Oil Company for $405 million, which was valued at $1,175.3 million for the court.
Large assets are now rarely sold at market value. Previously nationalized companies are leaving at a lower price, and commercial transactions are complicated by the Bank of Russia's key rate of 14% per annum. Despite the gradual reduction in the interest rate, it still remains high for asset purchases on credit.
According to a study by the Russian Auction House (RAD), the total volume of assets put up for sale in the Russian Federation as part of the privatization of state property in January-March 2026 amounted to 432 billion rubles. This is more than was put up during the whole of 2025 (at that time the value of state assets at auction did not exceed 365 billion rubles).
Auctions of nationalized property reached a share of 25.4%. In 2026, the Federal Property Management Agency expects to transfer at least 300 billion rubles to the budget. from privatization.
Russian investors have stepped up purchases abroad, using foreign units that are separate from the Russian parent company. Thus, the cross-border M&A activity of Russian companies in the first half of 2026 increased significantly compared to the total of January-June 2025. In the reporting period, there were 5 transactions involving the purchase of foreign assets by Russian investors with a total value of $1,227.6 million, which is twice the total for the first half of 2025.
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