Capital flows back to TLH
A sharp rebound in deal value amid disciplined volumes defined the second half of 2025 (H2’25), with capital flowing into scaled, premium, and technology-enabled assets while financiers and operators remained selective on price and risk. Expectation setting from earlier quarters—muted activity in the first half of 2024 and a cautious thaw in late 2023—set the stage for a value-heavy H2’25.
Deal value increased 83.0 percent year-on-year (YoY) overall in 2025 while deal volume pulled back modestly by 3.1 percent, indicating fewer but higher-value transactions. Strategic buyers were more prominent, accounting for 53.7 percent of deal value—an increase of 146.8 percent YoY. Private equity (PE) backed deals accounted for 46.3 percent of total deal value—a dip of 23.1 percent YoY.
The big money concentrated in leisure and hospitality; travel stayed quieter, with activity skewed to platforms, content, and data/insights rather than capacity plays. The acquisition of IGT’s Global Gaming and PlayDigital business and Everi by Apollo Funds for $6.3 billion, Bally Corporation’s International Interactive business by Intralot for $3.2 billion, and Soho House & Co. Inc. by a group of investors for $2.7 billion are the testament to this.
Three takeaways anchored H2’25. First, luxury and eco-luxury in lodging continued to outearn, attracting both strategic consolidation and real-asset-capital recycling. Second, hybrid leisure (physical venues plus mobile engagement) tightened the loop from user acquisition to recurring revenue. Third, travel ecosystems tilted toward information, events, and analytics to capture high-value demand ahead of 2026’s tentpole calendar. 1 2
