Current Month (September 2026)
M&A Litigation Settlements: What’s the Latest?
A recently published Cornerstone Research report presented some interesting data and analysis of M&A litigation trends between 2012 and 2025. A sample of 143 hand-collected settlements with known monetary settlement amounts pointed to a sharp increase in the number of cases over the last four years, with 25 in 2025, the highest number during the analysis period.
Interestingly, however, the aggregate settlement amount dropped sharply to $326.6 million in 2025 from the peak of $734.8 million in 2023 and $635 million in 2024. Average and median amounts of settlements in 2025 also declined to $13.1 million and $10 million respectively, the lowest during the analysis period:
Average and Median Settlement Amount (dollars in millions) | ||
2012–2024 | 2025 | |
Average | $39.9 | $13.1 |
Median | $23.3 | $10.0 |
Data source: Cornerstone Research.
The researchers point to increased SPAC-related M&A activity over the last few years as the cause of both the rise in frequency of cases and the decrease in the average and median settlement amounts.
SPAC-Related Cases and Settlement Amounts, 2023–2025
In the sample, SPAC-related M&A cases grew dramatically from 2023 to 2025, from one to 17, with aggregate settlement amount increasing more slowly. Data source: Cornerstone Research.
The number of SPAC-related M&A settlements went from one in 2023 to 17 in 2025, and the aggregate settlement amount increased from $35.7 million in 2023 to $171.6 million in 2025. However, SPAC-related cases resulted in relatively low settlement amounts (about half the size of non-SPAC-related cases), driving the overall settlement average and median numbers for the entire sample down.
Another interesting takeaway from the report is that the average amount of claimed damages (monetary losses that plaintiffs seek to recover in a lawsuit) in 2025 was only $61.2 million, a number substantially lower than in previous years. As an explanation, the researchers again point to the uptick in SPAC-related litigation. In SPAC-related cases, claimed damages amounts were much lower than those observed for the full sample.
Average Claimed Damages, 2022–2025
The average claimed damages amount in the sample was only $61.2 million in 2025, compared to $309.7 to $674.3 million in the prior three years. Data source: Cornerstone Research.
Finally, one more interesting data point from the report focused on plaintiff counsel fees. The average and median fees in the years 2012–2024 were $9.9 million and $4.7 million, respectively. The average and median fees in 2025, however, were much lower—$2.8 million and $1.9 million, respectively.
