The rise of M&A in Spanish family businesses in 2025 is the result of a structural transformation. Family businesses, which account for 92.4% of the business sector in Spain and generate 70% of private employment (Family Business Institute, 2025), are leading a new cycle of growth.
According to the report by Maio Legal and Strategy with Purpose (2025), 27% of family owners are planning acquisitions, while 29% are leaning towards strategic alliances. This dynamic reflects a new mindset: less conservatism, more forward-looking.
Family fusiness drives mergers and acquisitions
In 2023, 43% of M&A deals in Spain involved family businesses, surpassing private equity (26%) and industrial corporations (19%), according to the INE. This is not anecdotal: it is a solid trend that continues in 2025.
The report M&A and family business: how to align ownership and management at the moment of truth points out that this boom is supported by a favourable financial context. Corporate indebtedness fell for the second consecutive year to 64.7% of GDP, the lowest level since 2001 (Bank of Spain, quoted by Cinco Días, 31 May 2025).
But there is more to the story: a generation of business leaders – mainly baby boomers – are now facing key decisions about the future of their businesses. Expand? Find a partner? Sell? For many, M&A becomes the structural answer to these dilemmas.
Leading sectors and real opportunities
The rise of M&A in the Spanish family business in 2025 is more visible in fragmented sectors, in consolidation or with technological pressure. According to Business People (2 June 2025), the clearest opportunities are in:
- Energy: The energy transition requires financial muscle and technical know-how. Many family-owned SMEs are merging or integrating renewable projects to stay competitive.
- Technology: Digital change is no longer optional. Traditional companies are acquiring technology start-ups to update processes, sales channels and business models.
- Pharmaceuticals: The concentration of laboratories and distributors is driving acquisitions to gain scale, diversification and access to R&D.
- Agri-food and manufacturing: Sectors where global competition and tight margins are pushing for integrations. Here, many family-owned companies seek to lead consolidation, rather than be absorbed.
Maio Legal and Strategy with Purpose note that the most active family businesses share a pattern: sound financial structure, strategic vision and professionalised governance. The key is deciding whether to lead change or to give ground to external capital.
Succession
While the enthusiasm is real, so are the challenges. The biggest internal hurdle remains succession. According to the Family Business Institute (2025), 70% of first-generation family businesses do not have a defined succession plan. This puts their continuity beyond the founder at risk.
EY and the University of St. Gallen, in their Global Family Business Index 2025, warn that only 30% of these companies manage to survive the transition to the second generation. The lack of alignment between family and professional management can have a direct impact on daily operations, slowing down up to 30% of the activity (Maio Legal, 2025).
This emotional and structural environment makes any M&A process a complex decision. It is not only about growing or selling, but also about redefining the role of the family, professionalising corporate governance and avoiding internal tensions.
As Nuria Morcillo points out in Cinco Días (31 May 2025), «M&A in family businesses is not a simple transaction. It is an identity transformation that requires maturity, advice and business vision».
At Confianz we have accompanied hundreds of companies in merger, acquisition or restructuring processes, combining strategic vision, legal knowledge and family sensitivity. If you are evaluating growth or restructuring, let’s talk. We can help you make decisions.