2025 was an eventful year to say the least. With economic uncertainty delaying the much anticipated M&A-boom, the lending market became more competitive than ever.

Although the year started off with a rather positive outlook, Donald Trump’s tariff announcement was a huge bump in the road to a dealmaking bonanza. While the initial shock wore off quite quickly, the volatility of the tariffs did not exactly create a tempting exit-environment for sponsors.

As a result, competition for the deals that did come to the market went, if we’re being honest, a little crazy. Not only did we see margins plummet down to Euribor+450bps for the absolute hottest deals, but we also saw sponsors driving a hard bargain on terms and documents.

Because as prices became so low lenders couldn’t go lower, sponsors started on the fees, then the covenants, then the PIK…

So, as we are embarking on another year — hopefully one with more M&A — 9fin looks back at the deals that stood out to us in 2025.

From tariff-related wins, to software-margin squeezes, to massive upsizings, last year seems to have had it all. Here are 9fin’s top 9 deals that defined the European market in 2025.