We invite you to review LexLatin’s first assessment of the M&A market in Chile, where they shared the vision of our partner Álvaro Rosenblut on this dynamic and challenging environment.
The drop in M&A transactions in the first months of the year is seen by some analysts as a strategic caution after years of uncertainty.
The Chilean economy has shown that it is in good health. This is evidenced by the 2.3% GDP growth during the first quarter of 2025, a better-than-expected result, which was driven by the performance of trade, manufacturing, personal services and the agricultural industry, according to the Central Bank of Chile (CB), which also points to a 1.2% increase in domestic consumption in that period. This result makes it clear that the economy of the southern country is overcoming an adverse international climate, characterized by the trade war unleashed by the imposition of high import tariffs by the United States, which has affected the global mineral market, the main support of the Chilean economy.
As Álvaro Rosenblut, partner at Albagli Zaliasnik (AZ), recently pointed out, geopolitical tensions and the trade war that have been unleashed have a significant influence on investment decisions and risk perception, aspects that may tilt the balance of mergers and acquisitions.
Without losing sight of the global scenario, Chilean authorities forecast that the economy will maintain its positive streak for the remainder of 2025, which has allowed them to project growth of between 2 % and 2.75 % by the end of the year, a substantial increase over the 1.75 % forecast launched at the beginning of this fiscal year.
Adjusting market
However, the positive results during the first months of the year have not permeated all layers of the economy equally. This is why the mergers and acquisitions market has experienced a contraction, which not only maintains the trend that has been observed since last year, but is also a reflection of the situation in the region, for which some measurements point to a decrease of close to 30% in the volume of operations carried out.
In this regard, Juan Enrique Allard, partner of the law firm Guerrero Olivos, points out that although the first third of 2025 has not seen any major transactions as occurred in the same period last year -such as the merger between Banco BICE and Grupo Security, or the purchase of Esmax by the oil company Aramco-, there have been some transactions of some importance, such as the sale by Southern Cross of its stake in SMU, or the sale by the South African Tiger in Carozzi.
According to the statistics of Agora, a business intelligence tool that draws on information from law firms in the region, a total of 37 M&A operations were carried out in Chile in the period January-April 2025, a figure that is 14% lower than the 43 carried out in the same period of 2024.
The drop is much greater when it comes to the amount transacted, since this number of operations involved just over 2,366 million dollars, an amount that is 52.88 % below the 5,022 million dollars mobilized in the same period last year.
Agora reveals that IT is the sector where most mergers and acquisitions have taken place, representing 19% of the total (14% in 2024). This could be related to Rosenblut’s recent statement that companies should pay more attention to technological integration and proper data management, given the new guidelines on personal data contained in laws that will soon come into force in Chile.
The other industrial sectors that stand out in Ágora’s records are mining and real estate, each accounting for 10.81 % of the transactions, while automotive and solar photovoltaic energy each accounted for 8 % of the total number of transactions.
Two operations stand out in the period analyzed for involving the largest amounts traded: the purchase of Owens Corning’s glass reinforcement business by Praana Group (US$ 775 million) and the acquisition by the Cueto family of 49 % of CVP for US$ 700 million.
As for the firms that advised on the largest number of transactions, Claro & Cia. stands out with nine transactions, and Carey and DLA Piper – Chile with five transactions in a tie position.
Promising future
Despite the drop in M&A transactions during the first four months of the year, analysts estimate that 2025 represents a year of opportunities for this market in Chile, considering that the country remains one of the preferred investment destinations for international capital.
In fact, some analysts consider that the current downturn could be interpreted as a strategic recomposition of the market, in view of previous years marked by high interest rates, high inflation and changes in the regulatory regime, aspects that tend to become clearer and that could lead to a second half of the year with better results.
“Anticipation, adequate advice and the ability to adapt will be key to take advantage of the opportunities available and ensure the achievement of the objectives pursued in this dynamic and challenging environment,” said Álvaro Rosenblut.
Allard is also supportive of a possible improvement in the outlook for the second half of the year.
“It is possible that there will be important transactions that are already in process, such as the sale of Banmédica or Enel assets, among others. To this will continue to be added transactions in the energy, mining and technology sectors, which will continue to be active.”
