M&A Quarterly Newsletter – 3Q 2026

Market Summary

• Deal volume held steady at 85 tracked transactions in 2Q, matching 1Q and bringing first-half volume to 170 deals. The current pace is approximately 10% above full-year 2025 on an annualized basis.
• Average pricing declined modestly to 7.0x TTM adjusted EBITDA from 7.3x in 1Q, primarily due to a greater concentration of smaller transactions rather than broad-based multiple compression.
• First-half pricing averaged 7.1x, remaining closely aligned with the 7.2x averages recorded in both 2024 and 2025.
• Healthcare services led the major industry categories at 7.7x, followed by business services at 7.5x and manufacturing at 7.1x. Distribution declined to 6.0x from 6.9x in 2025..
• Add-on acquisitions represented approximately 35% of completed buyouts in the first half, while add-ons and platform transactions each averaged 7.1x EBITDA on a year-to-date basis.
• Leveraged recapitalizations increased to 9.4% of 2Q activity, while traditional buyouts represented 84.7% and growth financings accounted for 4.7%.
• Platform financing moderated in 2Q, with total debt declining to 2.9x EBITDA from 3.4x in 1Q and senior debt decreasing to 2.0x from 2.5x.

What’s New at Taureau Group

• June – Michael Schroeder and Tom Venner spoke about ESOP M&A at the Wisconsin Chapter of The ESOP Association.
• July – Matt Smith joined the team as a Senior Operating Partner.
• July – Completed the acquisition of Sapience Automation, LLC for PPC Partners.
• July – Ann Hanna was honored at the 2026 Women of Influence luncheon.
• July – Completed the acquisition of Gentry Plastics, Inc. for Le Sueur Incorporated.
• August – Taureau Group published its four-part series, Why Deals Fall Apart, exploring why lower middle market M&A deals fail and how to overcome common challenges.
• September –Corey was featured on Granite Harbor’s podcast, The Balance Sheet.
• September –Completed the acquisition of Toolcraft Machining for Schneider Elite Machining Group, LLC, a precision machining group supported by Schneider Resources Holding.
• September – Corey Vanderpoel attended IMTS 2026, the largest manufacturing technology trade show in the Western Hemisphere.
• September –John Weber and Danny Rodriguez joined the team as an Analyst.

Middle-market M&A activity showed continued stability in the second quarter, with durable buyer demand supporting a resilient valuation environment.

Active Broad Acquisition Searches

• Acquisition opportunities for a private equity platform company looking for commercial door and other warehouse equipment manufacturers with revenues between $1 million – $30 million.
• Acquisition opportunities for a private equity platform company looking for providers of multi-site facility services in commercial end markets with revenues of $15+ million.
• Acquisition opportunities for a private equity platform company looking for Aerospace & Defense avionics, embedded electronics, and engineering services companies with EBITDA between $1 million – $10 million.
• Acquisition opportunities for an employee-owned company looking for advanced fabrication and VDC services; modular systems and data centers with revenues between $25 million – $100 million.
• Acquisition opportunities for a private equity platform company looking for work-holding products manufacturers and machine tool accessories companies with revenues between $1 million – $50 million.
• Public company looking for branded consumer outdoor recreation companies with revenues between $5 million – $100 million.
• Private company looking for product-based manufacturers in robust end markets with revenues between $1 million – $10 million.
• Private company looking for technical advisory and professional services providers with revenues between $1 million – $10 million.
• Acquisition opportunities for a private equity platform company looking for residential and commercial lighting manufacturers with revenues of $5+ million.
• Private company looking for specialty electrical contracting companies focused on transmission and distribution with revenues of $10+ million.
• Acquisition opportunities for a private equity platform company looking for plastics manufacturers with a focus on blow molding, rotational molding, and thermoforming.
• Private company looking for tax credit consulting and complimentary advisory firms.
• Acquisition opportunities for a family office looking for flexible packaging and niche manufacturing business.

Featured Insights

• The Decision That Defines a Family Legacy – Read the article here.
• Good Crews Are Hard to Find. Buyers Will Pay For Yours – Read the article here.

Market Statistics

Total Enterprise Value (TEV)/EBITDA*

TEV	’03-21	’22	’23	’24	’25	YTD’26	Total
10-25	5.8	6.4	5.9	6.4	6.2	6.1	5.9
25-50	6.6	7.1	6.9	6.8	6.8	7.3	6.7
50-100	7.6	8.5	8.2	8.2	8.2	7.7	7.7
100-250	8.4	9.2	9.5	8.5	9.6	8.3	8.6
Total	6.8	7.6	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.1	6.9

TEV/EBITDA—By Industry ($10-$250M TEV)*

Industry	’03-21	’22	’23	’24	’25	YTD’26	Total
Manufacturing	6.3	7.4	6.5	6.9	6.7	7.1	6.5
Business services	6.8	7.4	7.2	7.3	7.5	7.5	7.0
Health care services	7.5	8.4	9.2	7.8	8.5	7.7	7.7
Retail	7.1	8.0	6.0	7.4	7.5	6.8	7.1
Distribution	6.7	7.1	7.1	6.9	6.9	6.0	6.8
Media & Telecom	7.6	8.3	7.8	6.7	6.8	5.8	7.4
Technology	8.6	8.1	10.2	8.1	6.7	5.7	8.5
Other	6.4	7.0	6.9	7.0	6.8	6.8	6.5

Senior Debt/EBITDA—Splits by Period (platforms only)* 

TEV	3Q24	4Q24	1Q25	2Q25	3Q25	4Q25	1Q26	2Q26
10-25	1.8	1.6	2.0	2.3	1.2	1.4	1.3	1.6
25-50	2.2	2.4	2.6	1.8	1.3	2.5	1.9	1.6
50-100	3.1	2.7	2.7	2.2	2.4	2.2	2.9	2.2
100-250	2.8	3.8	3.8	3.9	2.6	3.5	2.8	2.8
Total	2.5	2.8	2.7	2.3	2.0	2.2	2.5	2.0

*Source: GF Data®. Information included from GF Data may not be used or re-published without permission from GF Data or Taureau Group.

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