Who's buying, what drives valuation, and what a strong business looks like, by industry and subindustry. Sourced, not guessed.
Home services is one of private equity's most consolidated lower-middle-market categories: PitchBook data cited by the Wall Street Journal shows private equity bought nearly 800 HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies from 2022 to October 2024. Large platforms such as Apex Service Partners, Wrench Group, Sila and Champions Group now change hands between major sponsors, while add-ons drive most deal volume. HVAC services, the most closely tracked trade, averaged 9.5x EV/EBITDA from 2024 through mid-2026, below the 13.3x of 2021-2023.
Construction M&A hit a third straight year of growth in 2025, with Capstone Partners counting 562 construction services transactions, up 18.2%, and private equity making the majority of deals (54.3%) for the first time. Specialty trade subcontractors, led by electrical and mechanical contractors serving data centers, made up 366 of those deals; general contractors trade at far lower multiples because of thin margins. From 2018 to 2025, PE buyers paid an average 10.6x EV/EBITDA against 7.5x for strategics, and every 2025 deal above $500 million was done by a public strategic.
Manufacturing is the largest category in GF Data's private-equity deal database by cumulative count, and pricing recovered in 2026: GF Data put PE-sponsored manufacturing deals at 7.1x EBITDA in the first half, up from 6.7x in 2025. Private equity accounted for a record 47.6% of industrials transactions in 2025 per Capstone Partners, mostly through buy-and-build platforms. Buyers pay premiums for niche, engineered manufacturers tied to reshoring, defense, medical, and data-center demand, while commodity producers exposed to tariffs trade at a discount.
U.S. wholesale distribution M&A is recovering: PMCF counted 70 U.S. distribution deals in Q2 2026, up 7.7% year over year, after full-year 2025 volume trailed 2024. Strategic acquirers do most of the buying, roughly 85% of deals in late 2025, while private-equity-backed distribution deals have priced at 6.0x-7.2x EBITDA in GF Data's lower-middle-market data, well below the roughly 12x at which large public distributors trade. Buyers pay premiums for engineering, field-service, and vendor-managed-inventory content, and an aging owner base keeps the supply of sellers high.
Healthcare private equity hit a record of an estimated $191 billion in global deal value in 2025, but practice-level dealmaking is contracting: PitchBook data shows physician practice management deals falling from 851 in 2021 to 105 in the first half of 2026. GF Data recorded healthcare services at 7.7x adjusted EBITDA in H1 2026 on a small sample. State transaction-notice and corporate-practice laws, led by Oregon and California, are now a core diligence item.
Professional services is one of the most active corners of lower-middle-market M&A: Lincoln International counted 792 professional services deals across the U.S., Canada and Europe in the 12 months to March 2026, up from 680 two years earlier, with private equity behind 48% of them. Business services led GF Data's middle-market multiples at 7.5x EBITDA in the first half of 2026, though smaller deals price lower. Buyers pay for recurring client revenue, low owner dependence and a model that holds up as generative AI changes how hourly work is priced.
Lower-middle-market financial services M&A is concentrated in fee-based businesses, and private-capital-backed buyers do most of it. MarshBerry counted 854 announced U.S. insurance brokerage deals in 2025, 70.8% by private-capital-backed buyers, and ECHELON Partners counted a record 262 RIA and wealth management deals in the first half of 2026. Agencies, MGAs, RIAs, and TPAs are priced on EBITDA and recurring revenue, while lenders are priced on tangible book value and earning power.
Software and tech-enabled services M&A is accelerating: PitchBook data compiled by R.L. Hulett counts 1,463 deals worldwide in Q2 2026, the highest quarter in four years, with 2026 on pace for 5,320 deals. Private equity accounted for 42.4% of that volume in the first half of 2026, mostly through buy-and-build roll-ups of fragmented subsectors such as managed IT services and cybersecurity. Buyers pay most for contracted recurring revenue, security capability, and businesses that are not exposed to AI displacement.
Transportation and logistics M&A is recovering unevenly in 2026 after a multi-year freight recession: Capstone Partners counted 48 3PL deals in 2026 through late June, up 20% year over year, with private equity adding deals while public strategic buyers pulled back. Multiples vary by dataset and segment; PitchBook data cited by R.L. Hulett put the 1H 2026 median at 6.6x EV/EBITDA for PE deals and 7.4x for strategic deals, while asset-based truckload trades lower than asset-light logistics. The market is extremely fragmented, with 91.5% of U.S. carriers running 10 or fewer trucks, which keeps add-on supply deep.
Consumer and retail M&A is in a selective recovery. Capstone Partners counted an 18.9% drop in consumer deals in 2025 and a 9.2x median EV/EBITDA multiple, the lowest in its 10 years of tracking, as tariffs and uncertainty made buyers cautious. Buyers still pay premiums for customer retention, pricing power, recurring visits, and tariff-insulated supply chains, so valuations vary widely by vertical: from franchisee groups and distressed retail at the low end to better-for-you brands and med spa platforms at the high end.
Business and facility services has led GF Data's reported private-equity deal count over the last five years, and accounted for 57 of the small ($1-25 million) deals reported in the first half of 2025. Valuations are holding up, with business services leading GF Data's sector multiples at 7.5x EBITDA in the first half of 2026. Buyers pay for recurring contract revenue, client retention, and labor discipline, because direct labor can run two-thirds of revenue in contract services.
Education and child services M&A is rebounding unevenly: U.S. education deal volume rose 41% to 172 transactions in the first half of 2026 after a roughly 20% drop in 2025, and buyers have moved toward family-paid models such as childcare centers, enrichment and career training. Reported 2025 Education & Training deals priced at a 12.6x median EV/EBITDA for private equity buyers and 6.0x for strategics, while small owner-run education and childcare businesses sold at an average 2.88x seller's discretionary earnings. Funding source is the main dividing line: buyers pay more for revenue that does not depend on public budgets.
The automotive aftermarket logged 354 M&A transactions in 2025, up from 337 in 2024, and private equity made 50.6% of sector deals in Capstone Partners' 2025 count, the first PE majority since 2022. Buyers are drawn by an aging car parc, now 12.8 years on average, and a fragmented base of independent shops. Public multi-unit service chains traded at a median 10.0x EBITDA in April 2025, while equipment rental consolidates around United Rentals and Herc in an $83.5 billion U.S. market.
Agribusiness M&A is rising even as farm income softens: Capstone Partners counts 65 agri-input transactions announced or closed through September 2026, up 27.5% year over year, with average EV/EBITDA multiples up from 8.9x in 2022-2023 to 12.0x in 2024-YTD 2026. Buyers are paying premiums for proprietary products, domestic production and scale, while cooperatives, dealer groups and strategics absorb independents. An aging owner base (average U.S. producer age 58.1) and tighter farm credit keep the supply of succession-driven sellers growing.
Energy and infrastructure services M&A is led by utility and telecom contractors, where U.S. utility infrastructure deal volume rose about 11% in 2025 and investor-owned utilities plan $1.4 trillion of capex for 2026-2030. Private-equity platforms and three public strategics (Quanta, Dycom, MasTec) do most of the buying, often in sponsor-to-sponsor trades such as TPG and La Caisse's majority stake in Pike. Solar installation and propane distribution follow different patterns: residential solar is consolidating through distress after the 25D credit ended, and propane rolls up slowly through public acquirers buying local dealers.
Architecture, engineering and environmental consulting M&A hit a record in 2025, the first year with more than 500 completed U.S. transactions by Morrissey Goodale's count. PE-backed acquirers and PE recaps now account for more than half of deals. Most sellers are small, with 72% of 2025 deals involving firms under $10 million in revenue. Pricing splits sharply: Capstone puts disclosed AEC deals at an average 13.2x EV/EBITDA, while Zweig's survey of firm values sits at a median 4.28x.
Government services M&A fell to 125 deals in 2025 from 174 in 2024, according to KPMG Corporate Finance, as DOGE contract reviews and the longest federal shutdown on record froze buyers. Capstone Partners reports deal activity back to stable growth in Q1 2026. Public government services companies traded at a median 10.6x forward EBITDA at year-end 2025, and private equity still drives the market: KPMG counted 146 PE-backed government services platforms by mid-2025.
Real estate services M&A is a consolidation play on fee-based businesses: property and HOA management, title and escrow, appraisal, and short-term rental management. The base is fragmented, with 114,391 employer establishments in NAICS 5313 in 2023, and PE platforms such as CMH, AKAM and Oakline are buying regional managers alongside strategics like FirstService and Stewart. No data provider publishes a private EBITDA multiple for the sector, so pricing is read from proxies such as GF Data's 7.1x all-industry average for H1 2026.
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