Irish technology, media and telecommunications companies have piqued the interest of deal-makers in the first half of 2026, despite an overall drop-off in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the Irish market this year, a new report has revealed. In its half-year review of the M&A market, law firm William Fry found that the number of transactions in the Republic declined by 17 per cent to 237 between January and June compared to the same period last year. Deal values still surged to €33.2 billion, almost tripling from €11.4 billion in the first half of 2025. The sharp increase was supported by a handful of large-scale transactions, including Intel’s purchase of Apollo Global’s 49 per cent stake in its Fab34 semiconductor facility in Leixlip, Co Kildare. Aer Lingus job cuts and Ryanair’s profits plunge - what is happening in the Irish aviation sector? Listen | 41:54The €12.3 billion agreement was the largest single deal made in the first half of the year. The second-largest was Dubai Aerospace’s €5.9 billion acquisition of Australian private bank Macquarie’s AirFinance aircraft leasing platform. US business software giant Salesforce’s €3.1 billion acquisition of Irish artificial intelligence (AI) company Fin, formerly Intercom, was the third most valuable transaction, William Fry said, followed by Bawag’s proposed €1.6 billion takeover of PTSB.Overall, the technology, media and telecommunications sector was the biggest by value, and while the report’s authors said large transactions dominated, interest in Irish tech companies remains broad-based. There is a “growing trend towards targets that are AI-native or AI-enabled companies operating in cybersecurity and software for industrial applications”, said James Cotter, corporate and M&A partner at William Fry. “The resilience of deal-making within the sector underlines Ireland’s strengths across existing and emerging technologies,” he said, despite something of a fall-off in tech and telecoms deals globally. Meanwhile, foreign investors continued to dominate the transaction landscape, William Fry said. They were attracted to 145 Irish companies or assets in the first half of the year, 61 per cent of the total, with UK and US investors the most active in the market. Andrew McIntyre, head of corporate and M&A at William Fry, said the data shows that appetite for Irish companies remains robust despite geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty.“What is particularly encouraging is that this performance has not been driven solely by a handful of large transactions,” he said. “Mid-market activity remains the cornerstone of the Irish market, while international investors continue to see long-term value across sectors including technology, financial services, energy and infrastructure.”Looking ahead, McIntyre said the global environment remained “difficult to predict” but that the “fundamentals” of the Irish market would continue to attract investors, particularly if there was an improvement in sentiment internationally. Globally, the M&A market has been mixed so far this year. While deals worth a record $2.8 trillion (€2.5 trillion) were agreed in the first half of the year, according to recent data from the London Stock Exchange group, European transaction volumes tumbled 14.2 per cent as the region faced an outsize impact from the Iran war.