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Private equity and AI infrastructure drive record deal concentration.<\/strong><\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are tilting toward bigger transactions as deal values surge even whilst volumes fall, pointing to more selective capital deployment.<\/p>\n M&As in the first five months more than doubled to $84.5b (US$65.9b), the second-highest level on record, Vianca Sanchez, a deal intelligence analyst at London Stock Exchange Group Plc, told Singapore Business Review<\/strong><\/em> in an emailed reply to questions.<\/p>\n She said eight transactions above $1.3b (US$1b) contributed $61.4b (US$47.9b), accounting for 73% of total deal value, up from 40% a year earlier. Deal count fell 29% to the lowest level in more than a decade.<\/p>\n Stephen Bates, a partner and head of deal advisory at KPMG in Singapore, said quarterly volumes remained broadly stable at 70 to 80 transactions, but total value rose on a higher share of large deals.<\/p>\n He said this reflects more selective capital deployment into assets with stronger growth visibility and execution confidence.<\/p>\n There were 78 deals worth about $23b (US$18b) to $24b (US$19b) in the first quarter, the strongest quarterly value in three years.<\/p>\n Big transactions included the $6.6b acquisition of an 82% stake in ST Telemedia Global Data Centres Pte. Ltd<\/a>. by KKR & Co., Inc. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel). There\u2019s also KKR\u2019s purchase of a majority stake in XCL Education Holdings Pte. Ltd., valuing the company at about $1.7b (US$1.3b).<\/p>\n Neha Singh, founder of Tracxn Technologies Ltd., said artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is a key driver of deals as companies acquire systems needed to build AI capabilities.<\/p>\n